You are indeed right Sickie!A puppet manufacturer I knew that made latex heads and faces swore that by using Armor-All , his latex creations were protected for a mega-longer time than not.
And too add, sunlight, BAD!I don't know if this is obvious or not(it wasn't to me at first)If you can, keep it cool. Latex hates heat-like in the hot garage. Store it in a cool place if possible and it will break down a lot less.
First dont store them in heat, If you can store your masks in a a/c controlled storeage shed if they are on props. :jol:I was going through some of my stuff the other day, and I came across a rubber mask that was showing weathering ( i guess that's a good word) It was cracking and looking a little rough? What can I do to protect/ save it?
This is a very interesting techinque, I am working on an animated witch and was going to try this very thing with a mask I got from Cinema Secrets, Because I liked the way the mask looked, do you have pic's of the mask you did this to. and how did it hold up? I was thinking of using dragon-skin over the mask and had already asked the people at smooth-on about it, but since it is a Holiday I haven't received a reponse yet. and dont want to ruin my mask. I know Rick has told me over and over again that Dragon skin only sticks to Dragon-skin or material.I've coated latex with a thin coating of clear silicone caulk. You need to use something with very stiff bristles or a lint-free cloth or sponge, because the caulk is so thick and viscous. Certain solvents thin the silicone very nicely but I'd hesitate to use them because they might attack the latex.
Note: It was foamed latex I did this with. I worked it into the surface of the cell structure to make a really tight grip and it worked well. I'm not sure if silicone will adhere to "solid" pure latex. It might form a skin that will peel off easily. I know the caulk is more adhesive than regular 2-part silicone so maybe it'll work but I don't know; I've never tried that. I know it adheres well to DAP-Plus caulk which is latex with silicone added.