06-04-2009, 06:42 PM
Possibly my favourite thread in recent memory! Shades of the old days. I always found spam jamed up my airbrush and never made it onto the masks, unless I use a chip brush, but you can never get it as smooth as you want, and the color selection is limited. Oddly enough, UV light can also cause spam to crack and peel too... The short answer, indefinitely. With proper care and regular dusting and maintenance your masks will outlive you. The latex used now is a FAR cry from the old DPs and mass produced stuff, add the thickness, the fact the paint is also latex, acting as another layer and you're in pretty good shape. Latex is a natural material, and it will break down though, oxygenization breaks all things down, the molecular structure of the latex will revert to a liquid state. With powder to keep moisture away, and protection from UVA rays it'll prolong their life exponentially. Oil, moisture, dust and the sun are all enemies of latex, avoid them, avoid PMD (premature mask death)