Melting Masks? Help!

[🪦 Don of the Dead ●]

Ok folks, I ususally do toys but do buy masks on occasion. 2 of my older masks, a Leatherface and a Michael Myers are almost "melting" they're turning into gum, Leatherface is not so bad but Michael might be beyond help, is ther a way to prevent this?Thank folks!Don

[🪦 josephchoi ●]

i really hate to say this, but... you're outta luck. my advice is to chuck them away. you can't really do anything about it now

[🪦 IbDaToNeGuY ●]

what might have caused this ? i'm more than sure it's not because of age but were they exposed to sunlight for a long peroid of time or any kind of heat ? mike,

[🪦 travsall ●]

Lotta things contribute to mask rot, but most can be countermeasured. And yeah, unfortunatly unless you\'re willing to spend quite a bit on full restoration and foam filling, your best bet is to chuck and replace em.Things that will rot a mask, are the thickness, I\'m guessing old Don Post masks? The thinness and quality of the latex used then doesn\'t do much fo longevity to start with, but a few things will speed it up. namely,Sunlight, direct exposure to UVA and UVB rays will yellow, then harden, then turn a mask to goo.Oils, either from your skin from wearing, or any other oils it might come into contact with, oil is latex acid.Heat, LONG exposure to extream heat, especially humid conditions will warp and spedd the gooification process.Dust and dirt will also speed up the decompisition.The main thing we\'re all fighting against, is that latex is a natural material, by nature that means it rots and decomposes, no matter what you do, your masks will rot. Wheather that takes one year or 90 depends on what you do to prevent that. All independantly made masks are made with MUCH better quality latex and paints and MUCH thicker pulls, that\'s a huge plus already. But, even old thin pulls from mass produced companies can last a crazy amount of time if taken care of.First thing you do, help keep the masks shape, best thing is foam filling, but then you can\'t wear it, and that does get pricey. Second best thing, stuff them. ***DO NOT USE NEWSPAPER!!!*** can\'t stress that enough, the acid from the ink can harm the latex, and the paper will get brittle over time and make your maks buldge. The best thing to use is plastic bags, garbage bags are my favourite, but pretty much any light weight plastic will work. Set it on a stand, either a specially made one, or, what I use for the most part 2 liter pop bottles, either empty or with some water for counter weight.Second, keep them in a room that doesn\'t get direct light, or put up good curtains that filter the light out. A basement room is ideal. If you are in a hot humid climate, a dehumidifier is something I\'d recomend.If you\'re like me, you wanna wear what you buy, and that\'s fine, they\'re made to be worn! Just take care of them after, wipe out any sweat and oil with a cloth, if you wore it for a while and really worked up a sweat, cleaning the inside with warm water and mild soap is a good idea. Then before putting up to display again add a liberal coat of baby powder to the inside. Also dust them on occasion too, dust sticks to oils, discolors paints, and overtime will speed decomp.If you do those few precautions, your masks are gonna FAR outlive you.

[🪦 Don of the Dead ●]

Thanks folks! I"m guessing the sun cming in the windows would be the problem, I keep them on a stand and wiped the down after wearing them (on Halloween) I'll get curtins for the Horror Room.Thanks again!

[🪦 JoMaX ●]

Awesome info travsall.....so cool infact i made a note of it in a read me file.Thank you again for that very valuable info.

[🪦 pluto ●]

Yes thanks for that travsall. I know there a few masks that i want to have around for ever!!j

[🪦 JigSaw ●]

Hey Trav, is it fine to stuff masks with old clothes? I sometimes stuff my masks with old shirts that would have been garbage if they didn't have another purpose. <img src=\"http://forums.NIGHTOWLpro.com/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\"\" border=\"0\" alt=\"tongue.gif\" />

[🪦 GraveOctober ●]

Take pictures! I wanna see the melting masks! lol.Probably sun exposure. I had the problem when I displayed my masks by my window. It didnt effect the painted ones (or atleast that I know of), but the blanks I had laying around got a nice sun tan! lol

[🪦 travsall ●]

I can\'t see why old clean clothes wouldn\'t work, my only thing with them would be weight, you want the lightest stuffing you can get, to prevent sagging, buldging, etc.And glad you guys found that valueable, longevity is the key thing with masks. Spend that kinda money, you want em for a while!