From: Anne Schaefer <anne-AT-tanglewoodmarionettes.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:37:15 -0400
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Barth Mache: you gotta try it!


>
> I wonder if the contact cement will stiffen up with time?
> I hope that "latex based" in this case is refering to an acrylic,  
> not the actual rubber latex, which is not a durable material for  
> Theater masks (reacts with sweat, melts and cracks too quickly).
>

The water-based contact cement that we use (DAP Weldwood) is a liquid  
neoprene compound, I believe.  (It looks, smells, and acts a lot like  
the neoprene 501 casting compound we get from Chicago Latex).  We use  
it quite a bit as a binder for fabric mache, as well as using it to  
paint a skin on cardboard, and both hard and soft foams.  It takes  
paint well.  We've had better results using the DAP than Sculpt-or- 
Coat for applications where it's used to coat things, especially when  
a little flexibility is desired.   I think also that the DAP has  
better moisture-resistance than the Sculpt-or-Coat.

Long-term, I'm not sure how it will hold up.  It will probably have  
the life, break-down process of neoprene.  Anecdote:  At one point, I  
spilled some drops of neoprene casting compound on a cotton t-shirt I  
was wearing.  The drops cured on the shirt, and I continued to wash/ 
wear the shirt for a couple of years.  The neoprene splotches did not  
wash out, of course, and over time grew very dark brown in color.  A  
few weeks ago, the splotches flaked off, leaving behind precise,  
splatter-shaped holes in the fabric.
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