Club Obi Wan

I was just watching my Terminator 2 DVD special features and noticed a short clip on the costumes - in it the guy pours something called "Purex" onto the jackets (presumably to distress them). Any ideas/info on this product or what exactly it is?

Ken

No clue, you should probably do a search online for it. -IJ

It's the laundry detergent that we use that has no dyes or artificial "stuff".

In Sweden Purex is a former laxative...

I probably shouldn't have posted this but I couldn't help it.
"Hey, that ain't chocolate, you're eating Purex!"

Swindy

Of course, if you drank the laundry detergent, it would probably have the same overall effect....

Regards,

Henry Jones Sr.

I still find it a little strange... surely laundry detergent wouldnt cause any adverse affect to leather so why would they pour that onto a jacket?

Ken

Was it powdered or liquid and did you see the whole process or just the person pouring it on?

If powdered (and if we're actually talking detergent), there would be some abrasiveness - regular old notebook paper has some abrasiveness. If liquid - and this is getting a bit more scientific for me to accurately comment on - or powder, there are enzymes in the detergent which may somehow affect the finish. My heating and cooling man has told us before, with the furnace in the laundry room, the enzymes from the detergent - I believe he was speaking to the powder here - could foul the ignition system of the burner in the furnace. This was just being in the same room (dust/"fumes" from the powder form in the air otherwise inperceptable to us).

The other thing I think might be a possibility, if it was powder, is that it may have been used as a buffing compound to shine up the motorcycle jacket of the evil "T", rather than as a distressing agent.

Hope you find out for sure. This is interesting, now that I've thought about it a little.

Cab

Here in the South, Purex is a brand of bleach, just like Clorox. In fact, when someone says Purex around here, they mean bleach. Later on, this same brand name was put on a laundry detergent. Folks used to use Purex(bleach) to distress Levis, the blue jean variety. It has to be diluted, as it has been known to eat holes in material just like battery acid. Fedora

That is interesting Fedora and would make sense... hmm never used bleach on a jacket before (sound of a thump as Michaelson slumps to the floor and sirens sound as medics come over to resusitate him). But thanks everyone for the input. If I try it (with whatever UK equivalent I can get) I will let you know the results.


Ken

Ken, did you get yourself another jacket? Let us know the results...I would be afraid of the bleach eating through the leather, I know it's happened with my cotton clothes. With movie gear, the clothes are worn for a short period of time, so the wardrobe people probably aren't too concerned with the long term implications. Proceed with caution....I'm starting to sound like Michaelson...

You know, depending on which Terminator it was for and for what scene, that product might have been to "destroy" the garment.

Ken...

Back in college I had an A-2 hybrid with some bad stains on it. I asked a buddy of mine who was into WW2 re-enactments and I asked him about bleach on leather.

He said that it would basicly turn the leather into soap... bleach could actually DESOLVE the leather.

Ah! That is indeed an interesting point. I thank you gentlemen for bringing it to my attention. Perhaps I might just reconsider my previous intention.

Ken

Well I have discovered why they used Purex or bleach on the T2 jacket.

For Hallowe'en this year i am going as Terminator. I got a very close replica of Arnie's jacket from a charity thrift store very cheaply. Anyway I had sanded it, drilled holes, acetone, etc on it to make it look weathered. However the hide underneath showed through blue (from the black leather). Now in the films it shows through brown. Anyway today I decided to experiment with the bleach and lo and behold it turned the blue distressing brown.

Interesting huh?

Ken

Also I heard somehwere they used bleach in distressing the Indy jackets on set - how would this theory work on them if the hide is brown already? Any scientists out there?

Ken

Well here are a few pictures I snapped with my camera:

This is the jacket after FULL distressing with sandpaper and bleach



This was the color of the hide after sandpaper and BEFORE bleach



Ken

Purex = plain ole bleach!

The terms are synonymous. Purex just being a brand name of bleach.

Beware
I used bleach on a leather backpack at one point and it weakened the leather so badly that it tore shortly there after. You can't let the bleach soak too far into the leather. It needs to stay on the surface.

Those look like two bullet holes in the front of your jacket. You're not one of those extremest jacket distressers, are you?? You know, the ones that keep asking if anyone has shot their jackets with a 9mm yet? Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Those look like two bullet holes in the front of your jacket. You're not one of those extremest jacket distressers, are you?? You know, the ones that keep asking if anyone has shot their jackets with a 9mm yet? Regards. Michaelson

Hahaha. Well like I said I picked this up very ceaply in a charity store specifically for Hallowe'en, so I really didn't mind experimenting with it a bit.

The bullet holes were actually the handywork of a black and decker power drill but I think it worked rather well.

Now as for my Indy jacket, thats an entirely different matter...

Ken