How do you repair old latex props?

[BigT]

I have a couple fo older props that still look great except the latex has thinned and is tearing in a number of places. I hate to get rid of them because I cant find any like them, and they play key roles in my sets. Any ideas on how to repair these things? One of the the arms have all but disappeared, and all the stuffing is now exposed.

[ravensmoon]

Latex and natural cotton rolls. Saturate the cotton with latex and smooth it out.. then airbrush with acrylic paint... Never gonna look like new but better than throwing away. Depending on what it is, you can "corpse" them to look like dead dried skin like on a mummy or rotted corpse. Im sure there are lots of examples on her how to do it.

[Allen H]

Ravens moon gave a great answer if you gave us some pics we could be more specific and focused in our help. Im a big fan of cheese cloth and latex as a patch.
Allen H

[Evernight]

My favorite thing to use on old latex props and mask that have reached the point of starting to decay and crumble is "GE Silicone 1" 100% Silicone. The downside to this is that it leaves everything looking slick "Wet Look" but you can knock the wet look down a bit with powder when the silicone is still just a tiny bit tacky. The plus side to this is the silicone lasts MUCH longer than latex.

I have a mask from about 25 years ago that I loved but it was starting to crack and crumble - I coated it with the silicone about 15 years ago and it is still in use today with no further damage

The silicone can also be tinted with a bit of naptha and acrylic paint - or oil paints.

[Allen H]

Great tip everknight!

[Dark Tiki Studios]

Any advice for saving an old latex mask that has stuck to itself in places? It's a mask that has a ton of sentimental value to me.

[screamforadream]

you can't loosen it apart slowly at all??

if it's stuck but the latex is THICK and you are VERY careful, use a razor blade to slice it down the middle. as long as you don't cut through the outside of the mask you should be okay, then if you have a thin spot just flip the mask inside out and patch it up using either allens cheesecloth and latex method or even a layer of latex then toilet paper then latex again. I've used that method on props and it's worked well with me, but if you're going to continue to wear it the cheesecloth is definitely a sturdier option.

[tonguesandwich]

Old props... I use cheese cloth dipped in latex. I have redone giants completely that way. When I get a second I will being redoing completely the worst dino of all time, a rotted out 16 ft Dinosaur, sitting in my warehouse, from the B classic Carnosaur 3. You won't be able to tell at all.

[BigT]

Awesome guys great input. I have an old devil torso (or half torso) and head and the arms are rotting away. I use it on top of my truss as part of my signage, so no closeup occurs. Cheesecloth and Latex sounds like the plan!

[Dark Tiki Studios]

Thanks you!