Response by: JP, December 3rd 2014 12:04:38 am

FYI - first test of home chlorination with MJ Trends latex, 0.35mm red/black, 10 minutes in vinegar-method bath.

No discoloration, no spotting, no problems at all.  Seems to have taken the chlorination very evenly.

Still hanging to dry, but it doesn't appear to have any color change compared to un-chlorinated material. 

In short, success.

Response by: JP, December 16th 2014 11:41:26 pm

Second test, 0.4mm metallic bronze latex, glued with MJT ammonia-based cement instead of solvent-based.  15 minute vinegar-based "bake and shake" technique. 

Results - perfect.  Slick, even finish, no color shift, glue held together fine in the chlorine bath, didn't turn opaque or dull.

Response by: shinyskintight, December 17th 2014 6:12:50 pm

Whats up JP!

Thanks for sharing your experiment results for the chlorinating MJT latex. I've not chlorinated latex myself but I would like to try sometime in the near future. Your information thus far will be useful upon attempting this myself.

Please keep posting your results of your experiment! Looking forward to keeping up with what you find :)

Cheers,

Shiny

Response by: JP, December 18th 2014 10:06:51 pm

Thanks!  Glad someone finds it interesting.

I wouldn't pretend to be an expert, but I've chlorinated a number of things from just a hood up to a hooded catsuit, and experimented with various methods on scrap material to see what works and what doesn't.

Any chlorination involves generating chlorine gas, so it's not something to be taken on too casually, but it's quite safe if you take reasonable precautions.  The fastest methods are more hazardous, more concentrated chlorine, more powerful chemicals.  But if you're just doing your own stuff and aren't in a big hurry, all you really need are household bleach, distilled vinegar, excellent ventilation, and suitable containers.

Response by: Rubee01, January 1st 2015 12:49:11 pm

There is a lot of information about chlorination available on www.rubberist.net

including the right measurements of chemicals.

Response by: JP, January 2nd 2015 12:03:14 am

They're a very good site for technical details, though the volume of past discussion takes some browsing time. 

Most of their discussions use the hydrochloric acid process, which can be intimidating to some people.  (And, to be fair, concentrated HCl causes nasty burns if you leave it on your skin.)

Distilled vinegar is less hazardous than concentrated HCl, but you need to use more of it relative to the bleach as a result.

Both processes release chlorine gas, so definitely read and follow safety precautions.

Response by: JP, January 2nd 2015 12:10:51 am

Since my previous tests with vinegar-based chlorination went well, I glued up various scraps of MJT latex to test with the more aggressive hydrochloric acid technique.

Black/red, black/silver, metallic bronze, and white.  Joints made with solvent-based and ammonia-based cements.  Treated for 3 minutes in a gallon of HCl/bleach bath. 

Perfect results again, no color changes, no surface damage, joints seem fine.

There are still plenty of other colors I haven't tried, but so far, none of MJT's colors seem to fade when chlorinated.

Response by: DCRubberGuy, December 11th 2015 5:48:57 am

I've used the vinegar method. I just have to say to be careful with the strength and the amount of time you leave your garments in the solution. Most of the Rubber pieces that I have chlorinated have, over the years, fallen apart, come apart, disintegrated etc much faster than the garments that were not chlorinated.

Perhaps I didn't do it correctly or something. I don't know. I just won't be doing it anymore.

Plus, the feel is much different. It slides on your body like with powder, but without the need for powder. I like the sticky feeling of Rubber on my skin. But that's just a personal preference.

Response by: JP, September 20th 2016 7:04:25 pm

While planning this year's Halloween costume, I got distracted by a long evening of reading industrial journals and other research on chlorination of latex.  Turns out there's actually quite a bit of information out there these days because of powder allergies in the medical glove industry.  

Anyway, here's a quick summary of notes on both HCl and vinegar processes.  As always, use at your own risk, chlorine can be harmful or fatal, don't gas yourself, anyone else, or your pets.

Response by: lotemo, May 15th 2019 4:51:48 pm

Thank you for the information.  This really works well.  I chlorinated a pair of latex leggings and a full latex catsuit today.  The leggings were so tight that they were practically impossible to pull on, even with talcum powder.  Now they slide on without any coating.  It still takes some care to pull them on but no lubrication or talcum is necessary.  I used the medium mix of bleach and vinegar.  I bought a 3M gas vapor filter mask, chemical goggles, and long, heavy duty gloves.  I was able to soak the garments and turn them inside out and then back during the course of soaking them in the solution.  I rinsed the garments in water with baking soda.  The latex surface now feels like items I have that were professionally chlorinated.  Now I can actually wear them!