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+--- Thread: Cleaning Masks (/showthread.php?tid=20031)
Cleaning Masks - Lindros88 - 09-20-2007
I have heard some people say to clean out the inside of your masks with mild soap after you wear them. I have never cleaned any of my masks out with any soap because i'm not exactly sure what soap to use or whether I should water it down first. I just wipe the inside out with a damp face cloth really good then dry with paper towels. After doing that I put a dusting of corn starch in them to absorb any oils. All of my masks are kept in an air conditioned room and are never exposed to any sunlight, humidity or extreme heat. I want to do anything I can to make sure my masks don't melt, because I had that happen once. <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":confused:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"confused.gif\" /> Should I start using soap on them and if so what soap should I use? Thanks. [attachment=25642:IMGA0847.JPG][attachment=25643:IMGA0819.JPG]I figured I would throw in some pictures of my new Warlock while I was here.
Cleaning Masks - travsall - 09-21-2007
You can use soap, but it's really not that necessary, the best thing to do is just wipe them out with a clean cloth, make sure they're totally dry, then powder the inside, I prefer scentless baby powder, good rule of thumb, if you can put it on a baby's ass, it's pretty damn safe
The best thing you can do is make sure the masks are supported and out of direct sunlight. A few big green garbage bags stuffed inside, and put on a stand, (a 2 litre pop bottle works great) and that'll extend the life of your masks indefinitely. Other then that after wearing, dust em once a month or so, and keep the powder fresh, if it's been a few months since you wore it, wipe out the inside and repowder.
Cleaning Masks - Lindros88 - 09-21-2007
Thanks a lot travsall, I really appreciate the advice. <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsup.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":thumbsup:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"thumbsup.gif\" />
Cleaning Masks - liquidaluminum - 09-21-2007
I have a question regarding the direct sunlight thing. 5 months ago I began doing a test on some pieces of a mask that I had trimmed down. I took 3 pieces about an inch and a half long each. One was a thin piece that was painted., one was a thick piece that was also painted and finally a thin unpainted piece. I've set them in my kids bedroom window which is exposed to direct sunlight for the bulk of the day. They have no been moved from there this entire time. Today I picked them up and began stretching them to see if they would break easier, or if they had become gummy and to my surprise, nothing had happened to them whatsoever, other than the paint on two of the pieces becoming faded. Now while I would never expose any of my masks to direct sunlight, I was curious to know...is this normal? How long does it take for direct sunlight to begin breaking down the latex?I only ask because a while back my dad had packed up some of my stuff at home, one of which was a myers mask that I had for years. It was actually my very first horror piece. When i pulled it out of the box it had began melting around the base of the neck and was so bad that it had actually stuck to pieces of the mask that it was laying against. Needless to say, that mask is completely destroyed with no hope of restoration. While I'm not looking for the cause of the mask breaking down, I am curious to know if anyone has any ideas on how long it takes sunlight to break down the latex. As I said, I've been conducting this test for 5 months to the day now and it's been in the worst possible conditions. A very hot window sil with blinds pulled down behind it to keep the heat and light from escaping, and natural air born dust. Please let me know what you guys think as I'm really curious to find this out. Thanks all!-Joseph
Cleaning Masks - travsall - 09-21-2007
To get the whole direct sunlight damage, ya have to understand about latex. It's a natural material, made with non man made adhesions, that means it has a given life span and will decay and rot over time, no matter what you do, it will eventually break down at the cellular level, and either become brittle and crack, or that nice gooey mess you experianced. The masks we have will take a LOT longer to get that way, but they all will eventually. For the direct sunlight to do damage it has to be constant and over a long time, the first signs are that paint fade you see already, that happens frightenly fast, and that's the pigment in the latex paint bleaching out, at this point the actual latex has no damage to it though. That takes a while longer, and is caused by the UVA and UVB rays, the same ones that damage almost everything that's left out long enough, including people. It does actually depend somewhat where you are in the world, how depleated the ozone layer is, how strong the ultriviolet rays are, what kind of windows you have, and actually the size of the latex, smaller pieces will go longer without being effected just for the reason they have a smaller surface to absorb the rays into them. So your pieces could probably go years before they get to the breaking down stage. In truth, it really does depend mask to mask, but in direct sunlight they could live a few months I'm sure without too much visual detrimental effect, but it does speed up the break down process on that cellular level, breaking the bond between the latex molecules, the mask will age faster, and it's life span will be reduced. Actually, the exact same thing happens with people and sun exposure to a point now. Your Myers mask melting is a pretty common thing, I lost a few to that when I was younger. Most of it would be moisture, moisture is a mask killer! That's where the melting comes from, the H20 molecule will eventually bond with the latex polymers, soaking into the very adhesion that holds the mask together, and greatly weaken it to the point where it does slightly turn back into it's liquid state. See latex as a liquid lives under the same perameters as latex as a solid, only they're just vastly improved due to the molecular flow. In a liquid the molecules move a LOT faster and easier, keeping the substance longer, when the liquid is turned solid, the molecules slow exponentially, making them easier to break down. Water is an amazingly devistating element due to the speed in which it's molecules move. Mask acid though would be oil, ANYTHING with petrolium will eat a mask faster then a fat guy at an all you can rib joint
I've seen oil melt masks in a scary time frame, it just totally breaks the molecular bond down, seeps into the latex and destroys it completely, if there was anything oily in that box, that's what had your Myers for lunch.Hope that makes sense, and helps you out with your experiment, if there's anything else though ask away and I'll do my best to answer!
Cleaning Masks - liquidaluminum - 09-21-2007
<!--quoteo(post=238956:date=Sep 21 2007, 02:51 PM:name=travsall)<div class=\'quotetop\'>QUOTE(travsall @ Sep 21 2007, 02:51 PM) <a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=238956\"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class=\'quotemain\'><!--quotecTo get the whole direct sunlight damage, ya have to understand about latex. It's a natural material, made with non man made adhesions, that means it has a given life span and will decay and rot over time, no matter what you do, it will eventually break down at the cellular level, and either become brittle and crack, or that nice gooey mess you experianced. The masks we have will take a LOT longer to get that way, but they all will eventually. For the direct sunlight to do damage it has to be constant and over a long time, the first signs are that paint fade you see already, that happens frightenly fast, and that's the pigment in the latex paint bleaching out, at this point the actual latex has no damage to it though. That takes a while longer, and is caused by the UVA and UVB rays, the same ones that damage almost everything that's left out long enough, including people. It does actually depend somewhat where you are in the world, how depleated the ozone layer is, how strong the ultriviolet rays are, what kind of windows you have, and actually the size of the latex, smaller pieces will go longer without being effected just for the reason they have a smaller surface to absorb the rays into them. So your pieces could probably go years before they get to the breaking down stage. In truth, it really does depend mask to mask, but in direct sunlight they could live a few months I'm sure without too much visual detrimental effect, but it does speed up the break down process on that cellular level, breaking the bond between the latex molecules, the mask will age faster, and it's life span will be reduced. Actually, the exact same thing happens with people and sun exposure to a point now. Your Myers mask melting is a pretty common thing, I lost a few to that when I was younger. Most of it would be moisture, moisture is a mask killer! That's where the melting comes from, the H20 molecule will eventually bond with the latex polymers, soaking into the very adhesion that holds the mask together, and greatly weaken it to the point where it does slightly turn back into it's liquid state. See latex as a liquid lives under the same perameters as latex as a solid, only they're just vastly improved due to the molecular flow. In a liquid the molecules move a LOT faster and easier, keeping the substance longer, when the liquid is turned solid, the molecules slow exponentially, making them easier to break down. Water is an amazingly devistating element due to the speed in which it's molecules move. Mask acid though would be oil, ANYTHING with petrolium will eat a mask faster then a fat guy at an all you can rib joint
I've seen oil melt masks in a scary time frame, it just totally breaks the molecular bond down, seeps into the latex and destroys it completely, if there was anything oily in that box, that's what had your Myers for lunch.Hope that makes sense, and helps you out with your experiment, if there's anything else though ask away and I'll do my best to answer!<!--QuoteEnd</div><!--QuoteEEndTrav, that was the most helpful information I could have ever hoped for. Thank you so much for taking the time to detail that out. Now that you mention it, my Dad moved the box that had my mask in it into storage...in the basement and it probably sat there for a good 3 years before I ever even thought of breaking it out. Thanks so much brother,Joseph
Cleaning Masks - travsall - 09-22-2007
No prob at all Joseph, glad to hear that helped ya out! And then yeah for sure it was moisture that killed your Myers, basements are usually dampish as it is, after 3 years, and being jamed in a box like that, just broke the latex right down. All the masks I lost like that were in my basement too.