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Hairspray on plastic


cedd

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Some readers may know that I've been building a Rose prop for Beauty and the Beast.

 

The rose itself sits inside a polystyrene dome (actually a garden bell cloche; http://www.webbsdirect.co.uk/haxnicks-large-victorian-bell-cloche-prod6226/ ). I always knew I'd have issues with reflections and planned on doing the old hairspray trick (which I've never actually done - tips please!!!) to stop them.

 

One of the guys at the theatre suggested using a sample area first, because there may be a chemical reaction with the hairspray. I still want the thing see-through and certainly don't want to wreck the dome. So do any budding chemists out there know if there'll be an issue? Or has somebody sprayed plastics before with hairspray and know what to expect? I'd try the sample idea, but there aren't really any hidden bits I can try.

 

Cheers all

 

Chris

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It depends precisely what plastic the dome is made out of and or has on it (polish it with mr sheen and suddenly there's a whole order of magnitude of reaction possibilities) and precisely what chemicals (and propellant chemicals) are in the hairspray you are using.

 

That said, using hairspray to dull it down is a bodge of the highest order and would do a great disservice to the rest of the prop. The "original" disney one's weren't dulled down so I'd question whether you need to do this at all; if you are determined to take the edge off then use the proper tool; a can of "testor's dull-coat" or one of the plasticote "window frosting" sprays (applied suitably lightly) would be the proper solution. Again though you'd still need to do a test spray to ENSURE there's no reactions in the unique situation you've got.

 

 

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Thanks for that

I hadn't sussed there were "proper" products out there for this. Can you tell I'm a noiseboy first??? I'd always heard about the hairspray solution and assumed it was the best that could be done.

I'll have a good look at Dull Coat and window frosting products. Perhaps some matt lacquer sprayed very thinly? (Almost overspray).

 

I haven't seen the thing in the theatre lit properly yet. First tech was last night but I wasn't there. Will see what the LD has to say and take it from there.

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I'm curious as to why, even when told about a "Proper" solution your first instinct is to ask about a "bodge" - Some types of Matt lacqure spray MAY work but if you want to stop something being shiny just use the proper product for making shiny things less shiny; Dull-Coat. A Can will cost you about £6 and last you a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

From a design perpective I still think that the reflective/polished route is the way to go. There's not going to be any /major/ reflection issues because it's a curved reflective surface; also if you think about what the prop is supposed to be (a treasured possesion that he obsessively watches and preserves at all costs for "many many years") it makes a lot more sense for it to look highly polished and obsessively treasured rather than dull and subtle.

 

 

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Don't take this as gospel, but you may struggle to find dull-cote (at least in aerosol form) in the UK.

 

There was certainly a question over it's legality a while ago due to levels of toluene, though they may have revised the formulation.

 

Apologies is this seems a little vague...just a quick post to expain it's possible absense from shelves if you struggle to find it...

 

 

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Looks ok, found some here;

http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/materials-tools/varnish/testors-dullcote-spray.html

 

Seems the warhammer boys like their models dull!

I think you've misread me a little Tom. It sounds a bit like you're suggesting I'm keen to choose a bodge option over doing things the "right way". After the hours and hours designing and making the prop, I hope you'll realise that isn't the case. You'll also note me saying that until reading your first post (very helpful - thanks) the only way I knew of doing this, was hairspray. I then say I'll go off and look at your suggestions. I then say "perhaps".... A few reasons - probably not best made further up the thread, but I never suspected anybody would question it. Dullcote IS a matt varnish, so I wasn't miles off the mark and wondered if a matt lacquer would just be the same stuff and acheive the same results. You suggest Dullcote is going to be better - I agree and will try and get a tin on monday if it becomes a problem. We have plenty of games workshop-style shops around.

The whole crux of this thread was about NOT trashing my prop and making a mess of it. I've been suitably educated on how to acheive this and want to say thanks for the input.

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I would try the spray on a small area first. Although you state that there are no hidden areas, with careful masking it should be possible to try a very small area near the bottom of the dome that will be virtually invisable in use. An area as small as 5mm sqaure should suffice.
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Hi guys

Well, the show went up tonight. After keeping a good eye on it during rehearsals it became pretty clear that nothing was needed in terms of treatment. The internal LED lighting lifts the rose through and glare, and whilst there is the odd reflection, it's not when the petals are falling (I can go to the exact PAR can that's causing it - sidelights rather than front light). This was something I was only able to tell once in the theatre - my living room at night time isn't quite the same!

Apologies now if this seems a pointless thread - I don't think it is. If it had been a major issue on saturday, I'd not have had long to find a solution, so it was good to be prepared even if it wasn't needed in the end.

 

Chris

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