Dry tan vs Wet tan

Who is doing the wet tan ?

 

I have used both and never had a problem with the lips pulling. That is because I used all the advice that you got before you were told the dry tan would magically make your problem disappear.

 

I use a sanded jigsaw blade epoxies in a file handle. I sharpen the tip and make sure I sand all the "set" off the teeth. It's about the thickness of plastic shirt stays. This allows a cut with very little kerf. I don't know when the last time I pinned a lip. My mounts have 4 long japan pins- one in the fro t corner of each eye and one up inside the lacrimal gland. Still, I never trust the skin pulling. At least twice a day,every day, I retaxi the skin if need be until it dries.

 

I like both.

Like George said, I keep on that lip line through out the drying time about three days.

 

I have been using this tool for ever, like 30 years. I just simply push in a slot on a angle. In the back corners I dremal a little wider slot with the smallest drill bit available, to take the gathered skin. I also rubber dip the handle nice & thick.
I found some at the Harrisburg show about 20+ years ago, bins of them $2.00 apiece.
Now they are eBay at some ridiculous prices, I think these were cheap , like $10.00 a set.

 

I have noticed wet tans will shrink a little more that a dry tan, but you need to adjust for any shrinkage whether in your clay work around the eyes or drying skin. Like others suggested, be careful with your lip slot. Not only can it be too wide, but too deep.

 

So... I've waited a few days to see what the replies might be from those more knowledgeable than me... which is pretty much everyone, admittedly.
But, one thing I'd like to add that hasn't been mentioned is getting the skin thin. When I started really thinning and detailing the face well (i.e. lips, nose, eyes) the movement in my mounts during drying was really reduced. I'm not sure if you're a beginner, a seasoned vet, or in the middle, so you may very well already be doing this, but if not, it certainly is worth a try.

 

I prefer a wet tan simply because I have a lot more issues with the skin cracking around the nose, nose pad, and around the eyes. I had to bag the face to slow the drying time down and baby everything for days. I have no issues with anything cracking/splitting with a wet tan. Some I have tanned myself with Trubond and others sent out to The Wildlife Gallery. I have them do all my capes and life-size as a wet tan. To keep the lips from pulling I use a dremmel tool to thin everything down really thin and cut a narrow lip slot. I use a thin jigsaw blade epoxied into a 4 inch long 1 inch diameter dowel rod. sometimes I just use my lip tucker to make a slot. I had issues with the lacrimal gland pulling all the time. I tried using clay and pinching it together, it never worked for me but apoxie sculpt works great. Now, I use clay to recreate the tissue I took off, thin it really well and just use hide paste with a thin slot and it never pulls. It took me a while to grasp what my teacher told me when I learned, "Thin to win!"