How long will the ballistics gel keep?

[novaefire]

I'm working on a ballistics gel hand -- as shown in one of the videos-- for a short film (home-made gel, too). As there's still a lot of stuff that needs to be done preparation-wise, I'm getting this ready way ahead of schedule (1 week to possibly 1 month).

Will this stuff eventually go bad? I'd rather not have a moldy hand for the sequence! Also, do I need to keep this thing refrigerated or will it be ok at room temperature without "spoiling" (or melting, for that matter!)?

Any other tips are greatly appreciated! :D Thanks in advance!

[nooneimportant77]

i think they said something like it keeps forever if you refrigerate it, i could be wrong though.

[jared]

seal it in tupperware and stick it in the fridge and it'll keep for months.

[uhrisuh]

How come they never finished explaining ballistics gel in the weekend extras? .. or am i just dumb and missing an episode ??

[WesScog]

How come they never finished explaining ballistics gel in the weekend extras? .. or am i just dumb and missing an episode ??


http://www.indymogul.com/weekend-extra/episode/IMWE_20070817

You mean other than this one?

Yea, Erik never showed us what you can do with floppy red gels, BUT he did show us hot to put it into a fake head, and make it into a fake hand.

So I guess thats what he was taking about?

[uhrisuh]

http://www.indymogul.com/weekend-extra/episode/IMWE_20070817

You mean other than this one?

Yea, Erik never showed us what you can do with floppy red gels, BUT he did show us hot to put it into a fake head, and make it into a fake hand.

So I guess thats what he was taking about?

yeah i basically wanted to know what to do with those floppy red things ... so my question is now .. so instead of pouring the mix into a pan would you just pour it into your fake hand mould and refridgerate it some how .. or do you melt down those gels again and then fill the hand or whatever .. and then refridgerate??? is this confusing ??

[novaefire]

so instead of pouring the mix into a pan would you just pour it into your fake hand mould and refridgerate it some how .. or do you melt down those gels again and then fill the hand or whateverI poured the liquid directly into the mold then refrigerated it and had no problems doing it that way. It works great remelting it, too (my first mold had a finger chop off so I had to remelt it...it was even quicker the second time)

Once the liquid latex is covering it, should it still be refrigerated? I tried one layer and discovered ice forming under the "skin" (which made the skin separate from the gel). Should I take it out of the fridge once the skin is added, or move it to a not-so-cold area of the fridge?

One more quick question...do y'all recommend using the liquid latex you find at a craft store (not intended to be used on the skin) or the liquid latex used during halloween for creating skin effects (that peels off easily)...or either one?

[jared]

novaefire,
as far as frosting goes, pat the molded object dry before you apply the latex. and keep it in tupperware when refigerated.


and when it comes to liquid latex, use the good stuff. you can always get by with lesser materials when it comes to anything else, but the stuff that makes something actually look real? that's where you should at least have a small ($5.00) bottle of win waiting around for the topcoat.

[uhrisuh]

novaefire,
as far as frosting goes, pat the molded object dry before you apply the latex. and keep it in tupperware when refigerated.


and when it comes to liquid latex, use the good stuff. you can always get by with lesser materials when it comes to anything else, but the stuff that makes something actually look real? that's where you should at least have a small ($5.00) bottle of win waiting around for the topcoat.


I love bottles of win...

[Walucas]

I forgot to cook mine and it shriveled up after a while.

[punkandska66]

u can remelt it down, yes. also it keeps for eva as long as u refrigerate it CORRECTLY. i recently made some gel and put it in the frige, and someone made the temperature colder, and then ballistics gel freezes