Home-Cast Latex Film
Safety. Liquid compounds carry ammonia, coagulant salts, and metal-hygiene rules. No copper, brass, or galvanized iron on equipment that touches latex. See Liquid ventilation and ammonia.
Executive summary
This pathway forms film from liquid latex on a bed, mould, or former. Spreading, casting, and coagulant dipping each have handbook physics. Thickness comes from total solids, dwell, viscosity, and (on dips) coagulant, not from a mill stamp.
Use this when you are pouring, spreading, or dipping a film you will later cut or wear. The pathway primer is Forming film from liquid latex. Geometry choices live in Former dip, mould cast, and flat spread.
Lab glass spread
Handbook lab films are made by spreading compounded latex on glass with a wire-wound knife.
Anode order: coagulant on the glass, then latex. Teague order: latex first. After the film sets, leach 20–30 minutes at 40–50 °C.
That is the closest handbook locus to a flat glass bed. It is still a laboratory evaluation method.
Industrial belt spreading
US 2,415,028 describes continuous spreading of vulcanizable latex on a conveyor, including multi-ply builds. US 2,129,607 describes successive coats with drying between coats.
Those are plant-scale sheet-from-latex lineages. Blade geometry and fabric speed belong to the spread branch in the forming article.
Coagulant dip for thicker walls
Dry films thicker than about 8 mils usually use coagulant because the film builds faster. Wet-gauge levers on a dip are percent total solids, coagulant strength, dwell, viscosity, and withdrawal speed.
See Coagulant dipping for wearable thickness.
Casting in a cavity
Moulding and casting gel latex inside a cavity, mostly for hollow articles. Plaster moulds gel by water absorption plus calcium ions. Metal moulds need heat-sensitized compound. See Heat-sensitized gelation.
Humidity, air, and metals
Multi-coat lamination wants a humidity window around 45–50% RH. Air in the compound makes pinholes. Equipment that touches latex must stay free of copper, brass, and galvanized iron.
When a deposit fails, name the defect: Liquid film defects.
Deep dives (optional)
Deep dive: Anode vs Teague on glass
Wire-wound knife on glass. Process order changes gel structure. Leach 20–30 min at 40–50 °C before you treat the film as washed. This is evaluation-film technique, not a garment production card.
Deep dive: Belt patents
Continuous conveyor spread and multi-coat drying between layers are the industrial sheet-from-latex lineage. They are distinct from a tabletop puddle.