awesome new resist

[gearsmithy]

So I found an awesome new resist in the most unlikely of places. Liquid latex from your local adult...store. I started doing a combination of black dye and natural leather coloring for my motorcycle accessories. I wanted to keep my tooling natural but provide a black dyed background. The problem was brush flicks and careless hand placement would leave unsightly smudges and polka dots. Another member suggested using rubber cement, which does also work but it's difficult to remove from intricate tooling with an eraser. The liquid latex brushes right on and peels right off, no problem! The only downside is that the latex is suspended in ammonia, which discolors the natural leather and gives it a nice "aged" look (which I like). Necessity is the mother of invention.

[Peter Ellis]

mmmm.... interesting. Pics ?

[CitizenKate]

This caused me to remember that I had some liquid latex leftover from another project I did some time ago. It's a product by a company called Woodland Scenics, made for making molds with, and you can buy it at any hobby store that sells model railroading stuff. It has a fairly heavy, creamy texture to it, but thin enough to brush on.

Anyway, I tried some of this as a dye resist on a small project, and it worked very well. It resisted the dye perfectly, and came right off the leather with a little rubbing.

I didn't notice any harsh odors from it when I was using it, or any effect on the leather other than a slight appearance of dampness, which disappeared after awhile.

Kate

[JustWakinUp]

Any pics of this being used? Sounds interesting but I think if I told my wife I had to run to the "AHEM" book store for some liquid latex to use on my leather projects, hahahah that would go over like hookers in a convent.

[CitizenKate]

I'll be doing a small project this weekend that I'd like to use it on... I'll snap some photos while I'm doing it.

Kate

[Romey]

Kinky Kate.... KIIINKY

[gearsmithy]

HAHA, yeah it's fantastic stuff. Maybe the stuff I have is different, I'll see if I can dig up a camera and post some pics.

[CitizenKate]

Heheh! I guess I could have been a little more specific, yes? Hate to disappoint you, but the photos are going to show how I use latex (which I bought from a hobby store) as a dye resist on leather. Not sure if I will get to it today, though...

Kate

Edited November 11, 2007 by CitizenKate
missed a point

[Skipknives]

Kate did you use the liquid latex on the chess boards you made??

very clean lines!

[CitizenKate]

Skip, there are quite a few different methods to mask out areas from dye spray.

When dealing with straight lines, I just use "purple" painters masking tape. (Low tack, pulls up easily without disturbing the grain too much.)

On some designs, I create a custom mask by printing the design on some page-sized labels, then cutting out the design with an Xacto knife or swivel knife, then removing the backing and laying the mask over the leather.

I've just recently started experimenting with the latex, and so far it seems to be great on very intricate designs where a cut-out mask is not practical, either because it's too intricate or because I don't have artwork I can print out for a label mask. One of the things it's great for is masking out areas created by stamped patterns for which I have no artwork.

Kate