LATEX DRIP / DIPPING

[Peasant]

Has anyone attempted to dip a product in latex or any similar substances? Basically drip sneaks but also other items. I remember someone trying to make their own sneaks but I couldn't find it with a search. Possibly a conversation about re-dipping their drips.

Shoes aren't the medium I'm looking to dip but it's the same concept. There are products that exist but I haven't tried any. If anyone has any experience or input on the topic please share (the good, the bad and the drip sneaks). It seems like an easy enough process, but finding the right product may be difficult. A custom mix may be required.

Thanks.

[blackfedora]

I recall as well that someone "redripped" a pair of sneakers with "plasti-dip" in one of the threads but can't find it at the moment either. Based on my own analysis, partially rambled about here, CCP drips are not latex but rather a polyurethane. I came to this conclusion based on how it takes dye, it's durability and that it doesn't oxidatively decompose after many years as would be the case for a latex. I have looked into getting a polyurethane kit that works as follows: but in chemical mask, mix the 2 components, dip desired object before it turns into a solid block of polyurethane (think Carol's embedded shoe art piece) and hang for desired dripping effect. Usually there is a 5-15 minute window to work, depending on room temperature and humidity. I found a good place in the US for a source but could not get shipping across the border into Canada because the compenents of all polyurethanes are hazardous (especially if you don't know what you are doing). I will post a link for the particular mixture that I reasoned would the best mimic of texture and durability of CCP drips tomorrow (need to spend a bit of time digging it out if the million links I have.

[boodude]

^^ J that would be fantastic! Do you think one can simply bring that product when traveling across the border? I go quite often to US and would like to soon re-dip..

[zen dog]

Try this place:

http://www.silpak.com/

They are located near Los Angeles, California. I'm not sure about shipping and it may vary by the nature or perceived nature of the materials. I've used the latex or similar products for molds and it is very durable and low on the toxic level. I talked to them on the phone years ago and they were quite helpful even with my picky questions.

[guardimp]

There had been a thread on the topic - http://stylezeitgeist.com/forums/sho...t=14252&page=2

I was interested in the idea for a variety of reasons and wanted to test it out using a variety of products, binding surfaces, and application methods. The treatments I used included epoxy resins, latex products, urethene products (rubber and plastic), silicone rubber, and specifically plasti-dip and task 13 from reynoldsam.com due to their mention in the previous thread. Application surfaces included shoes (leather, fake leather, canvas) with a both leather and rubber soles and garments (many jeans, other stuff made from wool or cotton). Application methods included dipping the item, painting the item with a brush, painting/dabbing the item with a sponge, and spraying the item with a homemade airbrush setup using a compressor. I varied the number of applications and curing time, in a few cases I tried using some accelerants which may be highly toxic.

All this work was done in a highly ventilated workspace that was temperature and humidity controlled as per the manufacturers recommendations. All surface/treatment/application combinations were tested (n=3), it only took a week or two to make everything to test (give or take 50 hours not including procuring the items). I tested for adherence, durability, waterproofing (from both the outside and inside to incorporate both protection and breath-ability), and subjectively graded the appearance. Adherence was testing if the product bound to the test item, while durability was testing if the item held up to wear without cracking or other signs of damage.

Initially nothing worked like I wanted it to.

Plasti-dip was useless for the purpose of clothing and shoes - it did not give consistent adherence, was not durable, and shrunk after application resulting in unwearable garments or shoes. Did not matter how you put plasti-dip on, does not matter how long it cures or how many coats you use. Further it looks really cheap and was not breathable at all, waterproof for over 30 minutes when the shoes were held down in water with a rock. The only benefit was it did not crack at all, but merely wore off quickly. Completely useless for this purpose.

Task 13 was better but still not really useful - again it shrunk a bit after application, but this time it looked a bit nicer. An issue was the adherence, not good at all for leather or non textured items - using the spray gun helped this for clothing. Again it was waterproof. It was slightly more durable. Pretty useless for this purpose since it had poor adherence.

The latex products gave some of the best results for the clothing, especially when sprayed on. Quite nice looking, interesting sheen. Decently durable when applied in multiple coats were applied. Acceptable adherence to clothing and shoes, it wore off before it peeled. Decent for use if you are willing to work around colors and heat requirement.

The urethene products and resin worked quite well. They were highly dependent on the variety used, but overall gave the best results. Highly durable, only issue was it had an occasional bit of cracking. Very good adherence to shoes, less good for clothing unless very lightly sprayed on. Decent water protection. Overall a good product to use. However, the products I used in this section are highly hazardous if you are not careful. I would not recommend most people try doing this kind of product in a non ventilated area. Several of the products used are claimed to increase various rates of illnesses ranging from respiratory ailments to cancer.

Overall the best results came from making up a custom mix, none of the products I used out of the box worked great. For the shoes I found a resin base-layer in multiple segments coated with a polyurethane exterior for the appearance worked best. Clothing depended on what I was going for.

Does anyone else experiment with clothing?

TL:DR - if you are going to try to make cheap drips it requires a pretty decent time and money investment to get the process down and even then is a giant hassle unless you have access to a quite good workspace with good heat control and ventilation.

[blackfedora]

Guardimp, that is some fine experimental work that you did and thank you for finding the original thread with the link that I lost for Reynolds Advanced Materials. I had done some research into the polyurethanes available from them and narrowed it down to a couple polyurethane rubbers as opposed to the plastic polyurethane that you employed. I wanted to get the PMC-724 rubber polyurethane for the specific reason of moderate flexibility and high abrasion resistance. That system of course requires an accurate scale to measure out the components, a proper chemical mask (full facial as one of the reagents is a lachrymator) and ideal controlled environment. You, of course, have found out through experiments that the specific plastic polyurethane task 13 can crack. This was my fear of the plastic series and you have likely helped me in my future experiment (if I ever get my act together) with polyurethanes resins.

[guardimp]

In the end I ran through 2 poly plastics before I gave up on using them for the shoes, although they work out great as an overspray on garments when mixed with the right coloring agents.

I was trying to get a hold of some of the rubber from reynoldsam but it was a hassle dealing with them. I ended up using Millathane 97 for the polyurethane rubber, it made sense for what I was attempting. I needed a base layer and slight modifications to their formula to get the best result but it worked out quite well.

I used a fume hood to deal with the chemicals but realize that most people won't have access to proper safety equipment. This kind of stuff can get really nasty. TBH I doubt that it is really worth it for most people to do this sort of work. Overall to get the right consistency and finish it took me around 150 hours, and I have yet to really go after the coloration.

[zen dog]

I'll chime in one more time. I'll bet Guardimp's output was outstanding but he was right to give cautions regarding toxic materials and the demands of products. I gave up using resins when the fumes lingered long enough for me to feel uncomfortable even though I worked outside. Some of the silicone or latex products con be done in the garage or outside with little more than gloves, a small scale and some clean buckets. Look at Silginate, SILPUTTY, and mask latex RLM-460 among others. Whatever compromises you make in durability and control will be offset by your ability to experiment and stay in good health.