A (Slightly Cranky!) Primer to Lube and Shine

Posted from Fetlife:
by MissFuzzyBunny 11 months ago

Please note these are my opinions after selling, making and wearing latex for many years. I realize I may ruffle a few feathers with my anti-Armor-All stance, but I really dislike the idea of a car product in close proximity to my skin and body!

Hope this is helpful!*

I've reached the end of my endurance on the repeat questions in every forum about shining latex or getting into it.

So, without further ado, I present a no-nonsense guide to getting into your shiny latex.

Shine: Use silicone oil*, Pjur Cult Ultra Shine Spray, Pjur Cult dressing aid (apply with a sponge) or ViviShine. Period. Don't be a loser and try and cheap out with a household or car care product.

Expect to pay a bit. It's sad, but that's just the way life is, best to spend your valuable time doing something else instead of searching for the mystery cheap miracle fluid.

Note: Silicone sprays in aerosol cans are annoying and disgusting and coat everything in your house and clog your lungs. Walk right by them. Seriously, only old losers worth avoiding still bother with this shit. Harsh, but very very true. (Cult spray is a different animal altogether, it's non-aerosol and easy to control!)

Silicone oil can be purchased by the drum if you use a lot of it. Something like this, below. Please use your Google skills to locate the same product in your country.

http://www.chemistrystore.com/Silicone_Oil-Silicone… This comes in a gallon! A gallon! We use this at the latex store where I work to polish everything. Pour some into a smaller bottle, pour onto a sponge or use your hands, and go to town. You can also get thicker grades if you like, it's up to you.

Dressing: Pjur Cult dressing aid, ID Millennium, ViviDress, or again, pure silicone oil. Silicone is the key word here, are you sensing a trend? If you're a nerd, you can chlorinate your garments, but nobody except die hard latex fetishists have the energy or the patience, it seems, so let's not even discuss this possibility, okay?

Essential: There is only one place where you should never use silicone as a dressing aid, and that is in socks or stockings. Have talc on hand for this clothing item. Silicone will make walking very dangerous!

Unscented talcum powder is necessary for getting into stockings, but should be avoided for other garments because your sweat turns white and things get very messy.

Do not, whatever you do, listen to anyone about using corn starch. Corn starch is an absolute no-no, and anyone suggesting it is probably someone with a very smelly collection of dull and rotting latex. Corn starch can promote latex allergies, and even worse, it will rot your latex if not properly cleaned off afterwards. It's a food. Food spoils. Imagine what rotten food will do to your nice latex! Save your corn starch pennies for thickening sauces and custards. Keep it the fuck away from your latex.

Good, concise advice from Miss Fuzzy Bunny. Any experienced rubberists will tell you that trying to cheap out on latex AND it's maintenance is an exercise in futility unless you have lots of money to play with. I am a firm believer that maintenance is just as if more important than where from and what you decide to buy. I'm a big fan of Vivishine and Vividress when I can get them. Eros or Pjur will work in a pinch. I have heard good and bad with Silicone lubes...that excessive use breaks down the glue holding seams together, but it sure shines nicely. I don't use silicone lube as a dressing, I find it too sticky. As for talc, I get people asking where is the best source. I use Billiard Powder, which is available from any pool/billiard supply store and works excellent.