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Apprentice
 
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Last Login: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 5:29 AM
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As the new LRP season is starting up over here, I'm looking to make several new weapons. Also, I've decided to try dipping them in latex instead of brushing the latex on. I'm planning to mix black latex only, and to drybrush the colours on afterwards. Also, I'll be dipping the blade, crossguard and pommel seperately, and assembling them afterwards. This is mostly so I can use a smaller dipping tank.
A couple of questions right away:
-Do you need as many coats of latex when dipping as you do when brushing?
-Does the latex need to be thinned down further than usual?
-Does anyone have any other tips to share?
Tips I've heard so far:
-Use as small a dipping tank as you need, so you can make do with less latex. Get an airtight cap for it when not in use.
-Stick a pin in the lower end of the item to be dipped, so the droplet of latex which will form on the end can be easily removed after the weapon has dried.
-----------------------------How do they rise up.
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Prodigal
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:22 AM
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| First off, as latex sticks on contact if you are doing three items and putting them together later (at least the hilt and blade) you are most likely going to ruin your work at that point. Unless you are super careful at the point the two items come into direct contact with each other, you may be left with an item that has stripped-latex on it, or at least has had the latex "lifted" from the foam surface. Just a warning to be careful! I personally brush latex on and think that the dipping process, from what i've seen, isn't worth it unless you are doing it on very, very small items. The pin in idea is sound, watching how you hang it to dry and sorting out drops all good. Be careful of "drybrushing on" - especially metallic colours, as this is the best way to start the rotting process a lot earlier than you would expect from a standard weapon. You are better off putting at least a base colour into the latex (like silver for blades) then adding a paint effect on top afterwards. Your surface, after dipping, may be very flat, so you won't have a lot of "surface texture" to drybrush either. I use a combination of effects which I wouldn't go into here (trade secrets and all that!) to come up with my personal design effect. I hope yours works out ok. Best of luck!
- PD: Dubious (so i'm told) and all round Arms Dealer of Mill-en
- RL: Ian, maker of fine-ish LARP weapons
- www.makai-larp.co.uk
- Now providing replica firearms - delivered to every Maelstrom Event!
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Apprentice
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Last Login: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 5:29 AM
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Thanks for the reply  The sticking on contact could be seen as a good thing I suppose, since it means I won't have to use glue to join the crossguard and blade. And I know to avoid copper-based pigments, whichever way I'd want to use them. If the surface becomes too smooth for drybrushing, I can always dab the paint on with a sponge.
Sorry for being stubborn about this. I've been latexing weapons by brushing for over five years now, and it is the part of the crafting process which I like the least.
-----------------------------How do they rise up.
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Prodigal
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:22 AM
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You will still need to stick the "centre" of the hilt to the core and surrounding foam, as the contact-stickyness of the latex won't hold all that together. To be honest, I like brushing. I can control the effect well, I get a reasonable surface (I think so anyway) but there is nothing like trying something new if you really want to push your process. It's why i'm now doing cast latex moulding - it's still a bit trial and error, but so far everything is working out. I just need things to cast now to turn into pommels and things.
- PD: Dubious (so i'm told) and all round Arms Dealer of Mill-en
- RL: Ian, maker of fine-ish LARP weapons
- www.makai-larp.co.uk
- Now providing replica firearms - delivered to every Maelstrom Event!
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Apprentice
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 5:29 AM
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In the end I decided to thin the latex down about as much as I usually would for brushing. At first I overfilled the tank, so I couldn't dip the blade in completely without having the tank overflow. Solved by tipping some out into a seperate container.
The weapon I'm making is a scimitar, with a round crossguard. The crossguard is too big to fit into the dipping tank, so I'm brushing that part. The foam is sanded down to roughen up the surface rather than priming it with contact glue as I'd usually do, at the suggestion of a fellow crafter.
The first three layers are now on the pieces. I estimate needing at least six dips, though. The surface is beginning to look similar to that of Trollhammer (formerly Schatzkammer, a german manufacturer) weapons. Once the blade is dipped there is a lot of runoff at first, which slows to a drip after a while. Much faster than brushing, certainly.
The dipping tank could certainly be used for larger series just as easily. I can see weapon dipping parties becoming a popular social event amongst larpers  Let's find out if this works out first, though.
-----------------------------How do they rise up.
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Prodigal
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Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:22 AM
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If you think it's faster, certainly - get some photos up of you doing it It takes me about 2 minutes to add a coat of latex with a brush on a sword, maybe less. Depending on weather / conditions it can be 30 minutes to dry. Ish. Hot day, very fast, 5-10 minutes. Cold day, an hour. Around 10 coats satisfies Me, although it just depends on what i'm making and what effect, the colour etc. If you think it's significantly faster, how much of the latex are you losing while you dip? There must be latex that doesn't end up on the weapon - I have very little waste with a brush in a jam jar.
- PD: Dubious (so i'm told) and all round Arms Dealer of Mill-en
- RL: Ian, maker of fine-ish LARP weapons
- www.makai-larp.co.uk
- Now providing replica firearms - delivered to every Maelstrom Event!
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Apprentice
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 5:29 AM
Posts: 16,
Visits: 86
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If you think it's faster, certainly - get some photos up of you doing it [Smile] It takes me about 2 minutes to add a coat of latex with a brush on a sword, maybe less. Depending on weather / conditions it can be 30 minutes to dry. Ish. Hot day, very fast, 5-10 minutes. Cold day, an hour. Around 10 coats satisfies Me, although it just depends on what i'm making and what effect, the colour etc. If you think it's significantly faster, how much of the latex are you losing while you dip? There must be latex that doesn't end up on the weapon - I have very little waste with a brush in a jam jar.
Faster for me, certainly. And it takes up much fewer brushes. No worries about clotting either. Drying time is about the same as for brushing. There is very little latex wasted, since I allow most of the runoff to go back into the main tank. The container I tipped the excess into gets used as a secondary dipping tank for the pommel, and I let the blade drip off into that. Aside from a few errant drops, most of the latex gets caugh and is reused.
Photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2299321163/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2299320969/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2299322205/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2300118262/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2299321345/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75346549@N00/2299321593/in/photostream/
-----------------------------How do they rise up.
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Prodigal
Group: Basic Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 11:22 AM
Posts: 630,
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| From the pictures (which are great, love the other larping ones as well) I can see that your dipping process leaves a nice, even coat. A narrow tube (with a cap) is your dipping "tank" and looks easy enough not only to make but manage. If you are just "using one colour" it doesn't matter so much what gets dipped, as your undercoat should be simple enough to use. I was wondering how good your final weapon colour will be, as i'm sure we all have the problem of "shiny sword steel or just grey" which bugged me until I got the right blend of colours. I also notice the method of adding a pin at the bottom to stop the "droplets on the end" look. Hohw are you managing with cutting that off at the end of the process and then re-sealing it? Knowing what a pain in the neck latex can be if pulled (and if you haven't gotten to that part yet) it will be interesting to see the results. Great "Method" by the way. Nice to see. As to brushing, here is my finished blade colour and i've taken a shot hopefully showing it reasonably well. This blade (a sabre) I finished last week, so it's as new as it can get. This is after the sealant (isoflex) has been done: 
- PD: Dubious (so i'm told) and all round Arms Dealer of Mill-en
- RL: Ian, maker of fine-ish LARP weapons
- www.makai-larp.co.uk
- Now providing replica firearms - delivered to every Maelstrom Event!
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 Posted Sunday, March 02, 2008 8:28 PM |
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