Liquid Latex is amazing stuff. The possibilities it offers for all kinds of creative uses are just about endless. One of the more interesting things you can do with it is to create your own skin-tight latex clothing, like the catsuit shown here. The process involves painting a layer of liquid latex over an item of clothing, and it lets you create fun, completely customizable fetishwear very inexpensively.

Working with Liquid Latex

Liquid latex is a self-curing latex material that can be applied directly to skin or to some types of fabric. It's often painted directly onto a person, which is a lot of fun and is an easy, quick way to make temporary latex fetish wear. But what if you want to create something a little more durable?

One way you can do this is to paint with liquid latex over an existing piece of clothing. This creates a durable, reusable piece of fetish wear that you can make in just about any size or color you can imagine.

Not all clothing works well, though. You'll want to use clothing made of a fabric that is stretchy (such as Spandex) or a fabric that does not stretch at all (like denim). Fabrics that stretch in one direction only, such as common cotton or cotton/polyester T-shirts, don't work well; if you apply liquid latex over an ordinary T-shirt, the latex will tend to split and peel away from the fabric, and won't last very long at all.

The catsuit we're going to make is based on a Spandex bodysuit. You'll want something as form-fitting as possible. The latex forms a stretchable, rubbery layer over the body suit, and it tends to shrink slightly as it cures, so the result will be almost skin-tight.

You'll also need some other supplies, such as brushes, an impermeable disposable painter's tarp, a silicone-based lube like WET Platinum or ID, and optionally a hair dryer to speed curing. If you are working in any area where you don't want to spill the latex, put down a painter's tarp before you start working; these are cheap and easy to find.

When you're painting with liquid latex, use foam brushes or rollers, like the kind shown here:

Conventional bristle brushes produce inferior results, because they leave brush marks in the latex that won't go away as it cures. Foam brushes avoid this problem, and are very cheap. If you use a roller rather than a brush, it's also helpful to have a shallow paint tray that you can pour the latex into as well. I usually use several different sizes of brush; a 3" brush and a 2" brush for applying the latex, and a smaller brush for detail and touch up.

	Get several brushes. While you're working, you'll probably find it easier to discard a brush when the latex starts to cure in it, rather than trying to clean the brush. Liquid latex is water-based, but when it cures, it becomes waterproof. If you try to keep cleaning the brushes as you work, you may find you spend more time cleaning the brushes than painting! Foam brushes are very inexpensive, and you can find them at any hardware or home improvement store. I prefer the roller style brushes for everything except touch up. If you use roller brushes, it's helpful to get the kind where the roller part is detachable, and just use one handle and a number of replacement rollers. Making the catsuit here required about three brushes.

Of course, if you're sensitive to latex or you have a latex allergy, then you probably shouldn't work with liquid latex. This should probably go without saying, but I'll say it anyway.

Making the catsuit

Whenever you make clothing with liquid latex, one thing to keep in mind is that the latex will permeate the cloth you're working with. As it cures, it tends to become very sticky. For that reason, if your partner is wearing any undergarments beneath the body suit, the body suit will become permanently attached to the undergarments unless you first wrap them in saran wrap, as shown here.

When you've wrapped up your partner with saran wrap, have your partner put on the body suit, and paint the latex over the body suit:

I usually work from the top down. Try to paint the latex on in even strokes. You'll want to build it up in several thin coats, not one thick coat. You must take care not to let any part of the outfit touch any other part of the outfit when you work, because the latex will adhere to itself very aggressively while it cures. Use chairs or something similar so that your partner can keep his or her arms away from the sides of the body suit.

	Liquid latex has a strong odor as it cures. You may want to use it in a well-ventilated area. Keep the container of liquid latex closed as you work; if you're using a roller brush, pour a small quantity at a time into a painter's tray, or if you're using a regular foam brush, keep the lid on the container when you're not dipping the brush into it. This will prevent the liquid latex from curing in the container.

As you work, try to cover the body suit evenly with a uniform layer of latex. The cat suit shown here was made with black latex over a black body suit. That was actually not a good idea, because it made it difficult to spot places we missed. If you use a body suit that is not the same color as the latex, it will be easier to spot any areas you miss.

Don't try to create a thick layer all at once. Go over the fabric several times, building up a number of thin layers, and let the latex cure for twenty minutes or so between coats. The catsuit here has three coats of latex on it. If you don't want to wait for twenty minutes between coats, you can speed up the curing process with an ordinary hair dryer. The latex will change color and become dry to the touch when it has cured enough to add another layer.

The latex does have a tendency to want to stick to itself very strongly, which can make removing and storing the catsuit difficult if you don't take steps to prevent this. The best way to do this that I know of is to coat the latex with a layer of silicone-based lube after it cures. This also has the advantage of making the latex nice and shiny.

Once the latex has cured, rub down your partner with a good silicone lube, such as WET Platinum or ID. Make sure you coat the catsuit everywhere; any places you miss will stick tenaciously to any other place you miss.

Remove the suit by opening the zipper and then slowly rolling it down. Be patient; the latex that has penetrated the fabric will stick to your partner's skin, so you don't want to try to pull it off all at once.

When you have removed the suit, go over it one more time looking for any places you might have missed. Pay special attention to the edges of the wrists and ankles and the collar, which can be difficult to paint evenly when the suit is being worn. Use a small brush to touch up any areas, then cure them with a hair dryer and coat them with silicone lube:

When you store the catsuit, hang it in a closet, don't fold it up and put it in a drawer. Every few months, you may need to re-coat it with silicone lube to keep the latex supple and shiny, and prevent it from getting stiff or sticking to itself.

Most of the supplies you will need for this project can be picked up at any hardware or home-improvement store. Get a number of foam brushes, a tarp, and a small painter's tray. Of course, you'll also need the Spandex body suit that will form the basis of the latex catsuit.

The only other supplies you'll need are liquid latex and some silicone sex lube. You'll probably need about 2 containers of latex.

		Liquid Latex Starter Kit.
A 16-oz container of liquid latex goes a long way. It can be used on fabric or painted directly on skin, though it should not be used by anyone with a latex allergy.

		WET Platinum Silicone lube
High-quality silicone-based lube that works well with do-it-yourself latex clothing and fetish wear. For the project shown here, a small container is plenty to coat the latex and prevent it from sticking to itself. And, of course, it makes great sex lube, too!