A fellow Haunter asked me for any tips I had in regards to restoring aging latex Halloween props. The cracks and dryness...the broken edges...the flakes.
I never really used latex in my props, but I know the horror of finding our old rubber masks in a box my mother jammed into her attic after one hot summer season... it was like when Donald Sutherland's character in Invasion of the Body Snatchers feels the love of his life crumble under his fingertips as he hugs her.
Does anyone have any pointers/tips for how to extend the life of latex props...or how to repair them once aging has set in?
8 comments:
Tom Spina Designs has done a lot of restoration of vintage movie props from films like Star Wars. Maybe they could give him some insight or answer some questions.
Or, can anyone think of a creative way to re-use severely damaged props? (Frame them, encase them in ice, jam a pumpkin under the skin and make it look like it's busting through, etc.)
You could use them in a run down scene, using Mother Nature additions? Sticks, leaves, dirt?
Of course lighting on them at night always adds.
Or should I say if you have bushes and plants or whatever, you can place them in there to make it look like the props have been there for years...........
I use a lot of latex masks for our yard haunt props and sometimes the latex blends dry out and the mask becomes less flexible and misshapen over the years from being stored improperly in a tote with other props and decorations on top of them (I'm guilty of that numerous times over the years), so what helps reshape the mask is using a hair blow dryer on the hottest setting on the mask to relax and reshape the latex. Now for storage I started buying foam wig head forms and put them in the mask and then put a plastic bag over the mask and store it away in a storage tote without anything else heavy on it. I'm trying to remember to not throw away the clear plastic bags the masks I buy online typically come in! Here are a few more latex mask storage pointers: http://trickortreatstudios.com/blog/how-to-take-care-of-your-latex-masks-from-trick-or-treat-studios/
Latex is delicate and requires some extra care to make it last. Good info here: http://www.maskdr.com
Foam filling will help with shape issues. Far as once decay has set in, it's kinda past that point... One man that would know for sure would be the "Mask Dr". Kelly Mann he's a legend in the mask community.. And a great guy to talk with.
Visit http://www.thehma.net/forum/index.php for more info on this subject than you'll ever have time to read.
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