Gearing up for Teonn - Kharnak's Shield Thread

I’m finding lots of sources saying PAX paint is good for painting onto latex (it’s apparently often used on latex masks) but it’s not good as a top coat. It’s sticky. Apparently you can make it less sticky by mixing more paint and less Pros Aid, like 10 to 1 instead of 50/50, but I still don’t get the impression it’s a top coat.

One latex mask guide suggested painting “Matte Medium” over PAX paint as a topcoat. I wonder if Matte Medium would make a good topcoat directly on to latex too, but I can’t find any info on whether Matte Medium will go onto latex as well as it apparently goes onto PAX paint (or whether it will degrade the latex somehow). Apparently you sponge a layer of Matte Medium on, and it goes on white but dries clear. Matte Medium is available from some art shops, “Liquitex” is the popular brand.

Elsewhere I’ve heard that “Gelcoat” is good stuff for applying as a top coat over latex larp gear. It’s usually used to waterproof fibreglass boats. See this topic for further discussion. While we did get feedback from one NZ supplier that it may not be appropriate, given that some people are reporting they have successfully used it with latex I believe it’s worth trying. I think I’ve heard it’s what some professional European latex weapon companies use.

Tip I got from Norm / Joker:
Have a cup of water mixed with dishwashing detergent nearby, and soak the brushes in that. It will loosen up the latex that gets stuck in the brush, so potentially allow you to get more life out of your brush.

Jon

Thanks Guys.

I went over and got some Liquid Latex from TopMark.
The lady there was really happy to talk my ear off about casts, molds and resins. Which heck, that’s interesting :stuck_out_tongue: so I let her go on… and on… and on.

She said for what I’m doing the Pax paint isn’t neccessary, and would be way too expensive for the job. Does have some interesting uses however, but it is along the lines of just mixing in some paint with the latex before applying it. So that’s what I’ll do instead.

Wish me luck!

Good luck!

[quote=“Kharnak”]Thanks Guys.

I went over and got some Liquid Latex from TopMark.
The lady there was really happy to talk my ear off about casts, molds and resins. Which heck, that’s interesting :stuck_out_tongue: so I let her go on… and on… and on.

She said for what I’m doing the Pax paint isn’t neccessary, and would be way too expensive for the job. Does have some interesting uses however, but it is along the lines of just mixing in some paint with the latex before applying it. So that’s what I’ll do instead.

Wish me luck![/quote]

I’ve called TopMark for advice before, and they’re -super-. Friendly, interested, and experienced with people working in film/TV SFX. No request too weird!

Hey,

Yeah, I should have mentioned, when I latexed my webbed gloves, I just mixed the latex with some standard acrylic paint from Whitcoulls. Might not have the same quality finish as a bought one, but seems to be okay.

Jon

Hey,

Yeah, I should have mentioned, when I latexed my webbed gloves, I just mixed the latex with some standard acrylic paint from Whitcoulls. Might not have the same quality finish as a bought one, but seems to be okay.

Jon[/quote]

In the small amount of latexing I’ve done, I’ve also just used standard acrylic paint from a paint store. I usually get student grade, because it’s cheap, an I found the slightly watery consistency works really nicely.

I also tend to use foam brushes over brushes with bristles, less brush strokes. But I’ve only done a weee bit if latexing.

From memory when watching Derek - the use of bristled brushes creates a wood-like texture to the latex, especially if the brush strokes are all parallel.

Conversely, using a piece of foam to dab the paint on gives a more metal-like texture.

Am I right in that regard?

Bristled brushes do give a nice wood grain.

I used foam brushes (and cosmetic sponges) to create as flat a texture as possible.

Did the TopMark lady have any suggestions for sealants for latex to stop it being sticky?

I wonder if Selleys All Clear would work as a sealant?

The latex weapon sealant used in the UK is a clear, flexible roofing sealant that goes by the brand name Isoflex. Quite nasty stuff apparently.

But I’ve read of other flexible rubber clear roofing sealants being used around the world as sealants for latex weapons, e.g. in the US people talk about using one with the brand name “Through the Roof”.

Selleys All Clear is a clear flexible rubber sealant that can be used for DIY roof sealing, and it’s easily available at DIY shops in NZ and comes in multiple sizes for small or large applications, including 1-litre “brushable” cans for about $50 that would be good for big jobs like sealing multiple shields. So it would be a convenient option if it worked.

/obsessions with sealants

When I called Top Mark to talk sealants, they said they had a number of things that might work.

They wanted to see examples of what I was wanting to do and suggested bringing in various swords. One sealed, one unsealed, so they could make a recommendation. So if you’re keen, maybe take down one of your professionally produced swords, and a home made one and see what they suggest :slight_smile:

Cutting it close for time now!

Off to paint with sister who is up to visit and come to Teonn! Yay!

Just thought I’d snap my first latexing job, not too happy with it, but its not too terrible either.

Sealant, hmm, it is still a little sticky… Will this be a problem for the paint?

Do you mean the black paint in the latex you’ve already done? That will attract dust if left unsealed.

Or are you thinking of applying pure paint over the latex? That’s not what people usually do, not sure what the result would. It’s usual to mix the top colour paint with latex too. Doesn’t matter that the base latex is sticky for that, that’s what you’d expect.

Looks good.

Ah, I was under the impression the latex was a coat on the foam to make painting easier as the foam may not take to paint as well.

I did add black to that latex but I have since painted with just paint…

The paint on top of the latex will likely flake and chip off over time. Not so big a deal as it’s black underneath.

I’m not sure if painting on top of acryllic with more latex/paint combo would be a good thing or a bad thing (having an unstable layer in between may cause issues).

Given game is tomorrow, I’d say just leave it for now, and then consider re-latexing it again at a later date (peeling off the old latex and doing it fresh).

OR covering it with fabric at a later date.

Who knows, maybe it’ll wear great over the weekend!

You’ve done great work for your first go! You should be very pleased with yourself.

Learn from doing :smiley: I’m prepared to have to “repair” the shield from such things as “shield-break” and weapon damage anyway so :smiley: its cool.

Totally the right attitude to have! Making mistakes provides opportunities to learn in a hurry. :smiley:

'Ere we go then.

Apologise again for bad lighting and webcam quality pics:

I’ll get a better one in the morning with some real light

Elemental symbols left to go!

Here we go!
Not that anyone is really gonna have time to look at it till they’ve already seen it in game :smiley: