VERY Interesting Cape Materials Test

I have not really been experimenting much lately with the cape material, as it has been on the back burner compared to the boots.

So it came as a TOTAL surprise to me tonight when I got the BEST results I've ever gotten from a mix of latex.

Here's a couple of patches of brushed on latex. The part in the right hand corner was treated with talk, the other part is untreated.



What is interesting here is not only that this is ONE coat of latex, but most of all how it does not lift up ANYWHERE. This has historically been my biggest problem when "pouring up" the outer skin of the cape, as the latex tends to be repelled by the silicone. This does not seem to be the case with the current batch.

For the record, I spiked my latex rubber with this stuff:



It not only helps with the opacity, but apparently it also effects the brushing properties of the stuff. Who knew?

For the record, I am using "MPFX Slipcast Latex" from the Motion Picture FX Company. The stuff is MUCH thicker than what I was getting from Burman. From what MPFX tells me, this is because they do not cut their latex with ammonia in order to get more volume for their buck. I am now officially a desciple of MPFX!

I'm going to let that latex dry over night, but it's looking REALLY good right now. Opacity is spot on. I might even be able to get away with one coat of the stuff before it is ready for the fabric backing. That would be amazing, as this will really help with the weight. Even if I only needed two coats to get good opacity, that would be a tremendous improvement over what was going on before.

Overall, a VERY productive day here in the bat cave.