Balloon Chat
Uncategorized Boards => Balloon Decor => Topic started by: medwaylooner on March 23, 2012, 04:17:24 PM
Hi all,
My future sister-in-law has decided she wants to use the 'Rose Under Glass' (designed by the wonderful Jan Iiams) as bouquet weights when she and my brother get married. I know the weights are going to get poked, prodded and generally abused(!), so I'm thinking about trying to 'freeze' the 5" Diamond Clear to try to make it rigid, and therefore a bit less 'poppable' (hopefully!).
What we're ideally looking for is a transparent coating or treatment which will set hard after being applied to the balloon. Has anyone ever tried anything like this before, and if so, what conclusions did you reach?
Looking forward to your thoughts, even if its only to tell me not to be so daft :!:
Steve
It may not be so clear but double stuff the balloon?
I've thought about double-stuffing, but when I tried it, I managed to completely ruin a silk rose! :oops:
It was only my first attempt though, so maybe practice will make perfect...
Hi Steve
Hmmm - good question! I've never tried this, but it may be possible to get some sort of varnish or laquer that you could 'paint' on the latex. My concerns though would be a) that it may not prevent the balloon from popping, as I'd think that as soon as the balloon was moved or pulled the coating could possibly flake off. Have you tried painting hi-float or some other sealant on to a test balloon to try it? And b) if you are coating a diamond clear, any coating would more than likely leave some sort of residue that could spoil the transparency of what you're trying to show.
I did a google search (as I'm sure you'll have done) and couldn't find anything on this, though. My rule-of-thumb tends to be that if a google search returns nothing, it probably isn't possible or doesn't exist! :(
Not much help, I know, but please let us know how you get on! You may have a great business opportunity there ;)
--Neil
I have always found spraying them with dashboard spray or using balloon shine helps make the balloons last longer..
And being slippy may stop the poking and prodding a little
Pam
xx
I don't know if coating them makes them stronger, but while in Vegas, Ken Stillman showed me that they way to clear up oxidized balloons was to coat them with hairspray. It worked like a charm and refreshed everything, even the cloudy clear balloons.
I would experiment with a few ideas and see if anything helps.
Maybe there is something on the Qualatex website or try posting the question on the Facebook Qualatex page. A lot of decorators post there and maybe one of them has a good idea.
You could also facebook Jan Iiams and ask her directly.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing if you came up with a solution.
Shonna