Tools of the Trade
Day Seven: Glue Spreaders
A few years ago, I spent each day in January writing about a different tool I use in my maskmaking. As I am currently redesigning my entire website in the new year, I thought it might be nice to revisit this project. Each day in January 2021, I’ll share a different item that I use in my studio. I hope some of these can help other people who are interested in making wrestling masks.
“Professionally used in beauty salons, dispensing and mixing face cream conveniently, scooping the cream without finger,keep the cream jar clean, flat spatula design gives smoother feelings without nasty sharp.” Well, you can’t ask for a better description of this tool. These makeup spatulas are most definitely without nasty sharp. They do have a nice thin flexible edge on them, so I find them to be mighty useful as glue spreaders. They can be used several times before they get too gunked up, and sometimes you can peel the glue off and continue to use them. Either way, they’re mighty affordable so you can toss them when they’ve truly become too unwieldy.
The other tool I use is actually homemade. Sitting at Mister Cacao’s elbow, watching him make masks, I’ve seen him use everything to spread glue from cardboard scraps to the stirrer from his Starbucks cup, but what he uses the most is simply a piece of wire that he’s bent into a useful spreader with a twisted handle. I’ve adopted this method in my own #maskmaking, as it’s cheap, easy to make, easy to use, and as a bonus, if you pick the right gauge of wire, the tool doubles as a plug for your tube of glue! Brilliant!
I just went down to my local Home Depot, and found the aisle where you can buy wire by the foot. I got a lifetime supply for about forty cents.