# foam latex, pros-aide and corn syrup blood?



## flitzanu (Mar 22, 2010)

not sure if this is the right place to check...

but i had a costume mishap last night with a foam latex zombie piece i did.

i used the piece for halloween 09, and my it was my first attempt with (pre-made) foam latex and pros-aide. i'd used spirit gum for things before and it was terrible...pros aide is amazing.

anyway, i used the same piece last night for a Zombie event, and everything was going great until...i added the fake homemade blood.

i'd created a large amount of corn syrup based fake blood to use for the zombie costume, and AS SOON as i dribbled some blood on my lips, it broke the pros aide bond.

the prosthetic had lips, so both the top and bottom lip were stuck to my own, and i had no problems with them during halloween, but my bottom lip was totally loose, and no amount of pros-aide was reattaching and bonding to my skin. i had no choice but to just handle it and deal with it...but in a couple of hours the lip was loose, and the whole chin was coming unglued as well. also the top lip had started breaking the seal!

did i apparently miss some important fact about using fake blood with pros-aide and foam latex appliances or something? or is this unusual?

i really don't want to suffer this again if i use a foam latex piece that involves fake blood...any input on this?

thanks!


oh, and here's a link to the Mummy from Oct 09 using the prosthetic with no issues:

YouTube - Halloween 2009 - Mummy

and then last night the same piece with the already loosened bottom lip 

YouTube - Zombie Costume


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## Bobamaltz (Dec 27, 2009)

Like anything the adhesive does have a shelf life.
Did you let the Pros-Aide dry long enough before you did the blood?
Did you follow the directions?
Did you apply it to the skin first then to the appliance?
Is you appliance too thick around the mouth area. You should have a nice thin bleeding edge.
Good Job BTW.


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## flitzanu (Mar 22, 2010)

Bobamaltz said:


> Like anything the adhesive does have a shelf life.
> Did you let the Pros-Aide dry long enough before you did the blood?
> Did you follow the directions?
> Did you apply it to the skin first then to the appliance?
> ...


as for shelf life, i'm guessing you mean eventually it will lose it's strength due to age, but i only got it in Oct 09, so about 6 months ago. do you happen to know how long it should last in a sealed bottle?

directions...? again, i used it in October with great success and repeated the same steps this time. the whole foam latex piece was applied to my face and stuck just fine, and it was dry. as soon as i added the blood, the seal on the lips broke.

what i guess i'm trying to figure out is, is there an issue with corn syrup and pros-aide, or an issue with corn syrup oversaturated foam latex?

i used RMG on the mask, of course on the outside of the paint, but now i'm curious if i need a castor oil sealant on the INSIDE of the mask, and maybe the blood soaked through that? 

and thanks for the quick reply!


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## darkmaster (Apr 29, 2009)

flitzanu said:


> not sure if this is the right place to check...
> 
> but i had a costume mishap last night with a foam latex zombie piece i did.
> 
> ...


Well, I can't help you out, but I can tell you I like the zombie costume.

I will be working with appliances this year. Also, check out this site, and see if they can help or suggest a better adhesive. I like their appliances.
Film & TV Special Effects, Animatronics, Prosthetics, Props, Creatures & FX. Special Effects UK.
They have a very good selection to choose from.


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## Bobamaltz (Dec 27, 2009)

I’d say if you used the same bottle over a course of a year then you could have issues with it's holding abilities but since you said it was a new bottle scratch that off.
You might want to nix the whole corn syrup idea and try using some brand of Gel Blood. It’s basically melted red Gummi bear with a dot of blue food coloring so you could just use that instead. (If you can find the head of a blue Gummi bear to drop in there then cool.) 
Heat it up in the microwave but monitor it till it’s melted but safe enough for your skin.
You could use a double boiler but who has time for that. 
Take a popsicle stick and apply it where you want it. It will have a great wet look all night plus it taste great.
Hope this helps.


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## smith5 (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi every one,...
The Halloween 2009 - mummy was great horror movie,..
this video was very horrible to watch,....

thanks,...

-----------------------------
Halloween Costumes 2011


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## bansheette (Dec 3, 2010)

You most likely over saturated the appliance with the fake blood and that loosened the bond.

I'd recommend getting some of Ben Nye's Fresh Scab (which is a thick coagulated blood) and use that instead.


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## Instant Monsters (Jun 15, 2011)

ProsAide does eventually lose its bond after a few hours, but I've never heard of it popping loose as soon as it gets wet. I've poured tons of blood on our prosthetics and haven't had a problem. Very strange.

Have you tried contacting ADM Tronics, the manufacturers of ProsAide? They might be able to offer suggestions.


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