Topic: Skin repairs - an idea (Read 5854 times)

Spookywanluke · « **on:** December 18, 2010, 06:10:49 PM »

First off, hi, my pleos and I are new here but i used to be an active member of the Uglobe Pleo forums.... OK that's out of the way.....

My poor old Hamish Alexander has decided he wants to shed his skin in not so new and adventurous ways - the neck is splitting in about 3 lines and he's legs have seen better days (see Necky83's post about skin issues for photos very similar).

The thought was had, if modellers (which we are) use filler and putty to bridge gaps in metal/plastic work, why not use a similar idea for pleo.
I realise he's a special type of rubber, but as looking the same is not a priority, why not use a flexible latex substance?

Has anyone tried using mask latex, or rubber fillers at all? If so any tips?

If not, I'll be happy to post my troubles here

InmemoryofRomeo · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2010, 06:22:07 PM »

Hello and welcome to all of you

To the best of my knowledge no one has tried that yet so... Good luck! Lol.

Firebreathingsquirrels · « **Reply #2 on:** December 18, 2010, 06:29:26 PM »

Welcome to you and your Pleos! Luckily neither of my Pleos have had any tears yet so I havent had to use any superglue

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #3 on:** December 18, 2010, 06:44:22 PM »

Annoyingly Hamish's tears only occurred when I packed him away for storage in his box - the fact he didn't move for a few months caused his rubber to deteriorate in a way very similar to rubber bands left on items for years...

Thanks for the welcome and I'll try to get onto fixing him shortly

Firebreathingsquirrels · « **Reply #4 on:** December 18, 2010, 06:48:31 PM »

Did you have him in the sleeping position? If you did thats the cause of the tears, not the sitting around for a long time

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #5 on:** December 18, 2010, 06:57:17 PM »

He was stored in the straight out packing position in the moulded foam in the uglobe box....Still made no diff which was a little sad, but I know what to do in the future - carry him everywhere, he seemed to get less damage that way

Firebreathingsquirrels · « **Reply #6 on:** December 18, 2010, 07:01:47 PM »

Oh

I didn't know the skin could tear that way. The best option is what you said then, repair the holes and keep Hamish out of boxes

I'd love to see some pictures of Hamish and Sam!

Crewella · « **Reply #7 on:** December 18, 2010, 07:41:40 PM »

Hi Spooky. IMHO the problem with latex and fillers is that that's just what they are - fillers. They will only attach to the surface, and if the surface is crumbling then they will find it hard to form a tight enough bond to hold the skin together, especially on a stretchy, moving Pleo skin unless the split was very small. I would say (and I've fixed Aibo ears with this but had less experience with Pleos, mainly because I never seem to get Pleos with a bad enough skin problem, which I'm not about to start complaining about!

) that rubber patches would hold better, but you'd have to fix them to the underside firmly, which would require making a cut bigger than the original hole. I'm an antiques dealer and hobby restorer, and that's the same method, albeit different materials, I use to fix tears in leather upholstery or old tapestry chair covers. The theory behind it being that when there's wear and disintegration of the fabric you need to reinforce it and make the attachment to a more stable area. This would apply even more to a moving Pleo, but in certain areas, like the neck, you'd have to watch that the patches didn't catch on any of the structure inside. Having stabilised the 'break', you could then try latex fillers cosmetically, they might then stand a better chance of staying put on a firmer base.

RedwoodsMama · « **Reply #8 on:** December 18, 2010, 10:11:40 PM »

Hello Spooky, and welcome to the forums, I would love to see pics of Hamish and Sam also, I take it that they are both older Ugobe models, I have heard that some of the older models had problems with deteriorating skin, and thought I would never see it, A few months back though, I purchased a wonderful little guy off of Ebay that had the worst skin conditions of any Pleo that I had ever seen, I think he must have been one of the very first models made and from his foot number, it appears so, Not only did this guy have a broken neck which is fairly common in Pleos, that are Ugobe, but also his skin was falling off his tail, his underside next to his arms is falling apart, and down near his toes, the skin is blistered and lifting off, I have used Bandages for skin patches with superglue and had to use them on his neck, his stomach area, his tail almost the whole length and if I didn'[t patch his feet, the poor litlte guy would soon have no skin left on his legs at all,

I have given him a Makeover paint wise, but I do not know much about molding and such. If you can come up with a solution to patch Pleos skin that is in this kind of predictament, I would love to see how you did it and give it a try myself.

This Pleo's name is Little 45, as he cost all of $45.00 because of the broken neck and terrible skin problem. I had no idea just how bad his skin was though till I actuall got him home, I know there are a lot of people here who would be interested in how to use this kind of mold that you are talking about. I love people who have the courage to try something new and challenging, I think it is worse to have a poor Pleo just langor in stupor and waste away with no chance of New life.

I think it is far better to give a Pleo hope and try somthing than to let them waste away into nothingness or just suffer a slow and agonizing death of neglect and dispair with no one wanting to interact with the little dino anymore.

Good luck and keep us informed on any progress and or plans that you may have, It is such a shame to have such a wonderful friend have their skin just fall away like dirt brushed off.....

Hopefullly Pleo Rb gets a better break then their forefathers have so far...

human caretaker and mom to NOva and family of Pleos , RedwoodsMama

kat · « **Reply #9 on:** December 19, 2010, 05:30:14 AM »

wouldn't it be great if Innvo was to set up a re skinning shop for old pleos. Imagine the possibilities for a new start for so many well loved but damaged pleos.

Also could be an opportunity for a new color skin at the same time. A nice dream.

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #10 on:** December 20, 2010, 03:30:55 AM »

[quote ]
Having stabilised the 'break', you could then try latex fillers cosmetically, they might then stand a better chance of staying put on a firmer base.

[/quote]

Ohh I'll happily take those comments into consideration, esp for around the neck area, though as the deterioration on the legs and tail is minor compared to the neck, I think filling may work there....

RedwoodsMama, Hamish is the old Uglobe model from the first month they were sold in Australia....Sam is a newish 2009 model and really hasn't come out of baby stage yet....had to turn her off while my partner's dogs were getting used to their new feline overlord at the 'new' house and I haven't let her loose...

I can honestly say that buying a cape with my new pleo was the best thing I could do for hamish - it keeps his modesty and the deterioration hasn't gotten worse...
Pictures will be most forthcoming

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #11 on:** December 24, 2010, 05:16:41 AM »

Got a picture of hamish's neck, at half extension - Photo's don't look bad but it tears very easy and has the consistency of old rubberbands...

Legs

tail

Crewella · « **Reply #12 on:** December 24, 2010, 06:15:09 AM »

Poor Hamish - he looks such a nice Pleo too, what a shame. I'm glad the cape helps.

With splits that big I'd be wary of using any fillers without using a patch underneath for fear of it getting into the works. It's so sad that this happened when you thought he was safely packed away in his box - was he in the packing position? I'm also wondering if packing Pleos away in acid-free tissue paper might help at all .......

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #13 on:** December 24, 2010, 06:21:06 AM »

Acid free tissues wold probably work perfectly, at least it can't do any worse than the old packaging.
Yeah he was packed in the 'packing' position, at the time had to email innovo for instructions on how to get him there- only the new companion book seems to mention that little tibit.

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #14 on:** December 24, 2010, 06:22:53 AM »

Have a good x-mas guys, my next posting may either be tomorrow night or day after boxing day...

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #15 on:** December 24, 2010, 06:23:42 AM »

btw if anyone want to see pics of sam and hamish or my other pets, go to my welcome page - finally put them up.

RedwoodsMama · « **Reply #16 on:** December 24, 2010, 11:03:23 AM »

HI Spooky,is it ok to call you by that or do you have another preference? I am so sorry about Hammish but I do have a Pleo that has some of the same problems, his tail was very similiar and ready to fall off!

also with a broken neck and skin falling off under his arms and his belly and his feet. I dont know anything about skin molds and such but ended up using something called Co-flex which comes in great colors to not only do his neck but also to patch his side, and wrap his tail. HIs tail is pretty much camoflauge, It isn't hidden but I dont try to hide it, he wears it as a badge of honor actually, like he has come through and survived a war zone,

I am sending you a Personal note as you also asked about batteries and I have some other questions for you. I dont know if you have ever used Co-flex before, but it stretches and is easy to work with and not expensive at all, and the nice thing is that if you are tired you can change the color and best of all, it gives stability to the joint and does not interfere with movement at all,
Hope Hammish is up and about soon and feeling his old self, Happy holidays .

RedwoodsMama

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #17 on:** December 24, 2010, 02:30:20 PM »

Never heard of co-flex before...wonder if i can buy it here in oz.... You'd be surprised what you can't find here that even the least first world nation can buy..

Spooky is perfectly fine, been called that for over 15 years, so it's become more my name than my real one

Hamish is still walking around - the coat bought from innovo keeps all his private parts hidden and cushioned, and surprisingly it hasn't gotten any worse...

Happy holidays...

dwalin · « **Reply #18 on:** January 07, 2011, 09:49:36 AM »

Oh dear that looks sad. That sounds like the whole skin has destabilized and is falling apart. The only thing you can try is put some latex under the cracks and see I the glue does more harm or not. I have tried a glue from Henkel named Pattex Repair Extreme on Skinny and that worked fine in the short run but I have no idea if it is available down under and if so will it do harm to what is left of the skin. I would try the neck first because that is relatively easy to reach and work on. You could either open the neck-body-connection and try to roll the skin up to the head or use a pair of tweezers to pull the latex through the cracks and then apply the glue.

Spookywanluke · « **Reply #19 on:** January 07, 2011, 04:10:21 PM »

Oh very nice. I'll try and search it out. I'm doing a hobby store/unnings run soon so I'll do a bit of digging.

Thanks for tips on how to do it, I'll keep them in mind.

mweed · « **Reply #20 on:** January 09, 2011, 06:16:08 PM »

Granted, Bob is physically three years old, but here are some close ups of the types of skin problems he is having. Here the issue is more of preserving whats there and stopping the cracking and disintegration of the rubber, rather than filling holes. SUper glue works well for gluing the cracks together, but it dries hard. Bob does have several holes that would benefit from some type of "filler" material as well, though!

More details...

Crewella · « **Reply #21 on:** January 09, 2011, 06:28:12 PM »

Poor Bob!!

You need a Pleo plastic surgeon! I'm afraid I don't think Botox will so it.................

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Vinylex from the US (postage cost twice as much as the actual purchase did

) for comparison with the Autoglym (UK) product I already have. I'll report back when I've tried them on the inert Pleos (and maybe the 'ert' ones too

).

saratogaspringer · « **Reply #22 on:** January 10, 2011, 07:30:43 AM »

Hi Spooky! I am just wondering if anyone has tried liquid band aids? I work in a dental office and we get dried and cracked skin all the time. Some of them are cheap, but the band aide brand works really well, especially in areas that move a lot, like the finger joints and knuckles. It is much less rigid than super glue and very sticky when applied. It almost dries clear and doesn't wash off in the shower.

Crewella · « **Reply #23 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:08:20 PM »

Hi saratogaspringer. it's funny you should mention that - I was reading the label on a pack of that a couple of days ago and wondering the same thing!! I'm a bit tied up at the moment, but I will look into the potential long-term effects of contacts with Pleos thermoplastic skin and maybe give it a try. Thanks, for posting, as it's good to hear from somebody who knows about the product - do you know how strong it is? Would it be able to keep the edges together in a split, or is it more of a protective surface or filler rather than a glue?

dwalin · « **Reply #24 on:** January 21, 2011, 02:14:41 PM »

Some time has passed and I have now got batteries for both Skinny and Littlefoot - and at the moment it looks like the glue around Skinny's neck is attached perfectly. I could have fitted it a little better but more important: No wear or traces of skin dissolving. It looks like the Pattex stuff works like it was supposed to. I will keep you updated.

Bob the Pleo Forums

Author Topic: Skin repairs - an idea (Read 5854 times)