Several years ago I ran a company that bought latex fashions wholesale from abroad and sold them via retail in the US. I no longer have the company, but I did have some of the latex garments remaining that I found when doing some spring cleaning.
As I went through those remaining latex items, I found that some of them had substantial damage. I had stored them in plastic bags outside of the sunlight and been careful about exposure to anything that might damage them.
Upon closer inspection what I found was that the adhesive used in making them had eaten away at the material over time. These garments were between 3 and 5 years old, and I was amazed to see what had occurred.
The white latex had discolored to a brownish color, and the adhesive had dissolved the latex and left pockmarks and holes.
Don’t let this happen to you! If you care about the longevity of your latex clothing, we recommend either buying your latex adhesive from MJTrends or confirming with the company you are buying from that their adhesive is safe for use with natural latex rubber.
Also, if you are diluting your rubber cement – please be careful about what solvents you use. Off-the-shelf components from your home big box store are probably corrosive to latex. Xylene and strip-clean are two that we receive questions about and we recommend that you do not use them.
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That example of 3–5 year old garments developing pockmarks really stuck with me, especially since they were stored properly. It’s surprising how the wrong adhesive alone can quietly destroy latex over time.
Hearing that the adhesive literally dissolved parts of the latex into holes makes me rethink some minor flaws I’ve seen before. I probably blamed wear when it could have been chemical breakdown.
I hadn’t realized adhesive choice could actually discolor white latex to a brown tone, that’s pretty alarming. Makes me rethink a few older pieces I assumed were just aging naturally.
The warning about diluting rubber cement with hardware store solvents like xylene is super helpful. I’ve definitely considered that shortcut before, but clearly it’s not worth the long-term damage.
Good reminder that not all rubber cement setups are equal, especially when you start mixing in your own solvents. The note about avoiding strip-clean is something I hadn’t come across before.
It’s wild that the garments were kept out of sunlight and still degraded because of the adhesive itself. Shows that even when you do everything else right, one bad material choice can ruin everything.
Appreciate the specific callout on confirming adhesive compatibility with natural latex rubber. A lot of sellers don’t mention what they use, and now I see why that actually matters years down the line.