Basic Doll Care

My first BJD arrived yesterday, and I have some MSC UV here already. He has a factory faceup, from DollZone, and I want to know if I should give him a coat or two of the MSC I have now or if I should wait? Thanks for any replies.

--EDC

 

If he is glossed, the gloss will go away when you spray... also make sure to take the eyelashes off, if he has any. Good luck! But generally faceups are sealed well enough from the company.

ETA: i think this has been said before too, but sealant is the most resistant in a very, very thin layer. so you don't have to abuse your MSC sealing your face-up, or moreover, blushing. too much will weaken the sealant and it will peel off quickly, it's also weaker to shock. from personal experience, on blushed bodies, the joints on dolls who have more sealant on them will have the blushing peeled off much faster, given the sealant layers are thicker, making the ball bigger so it rubs more against the joint socket.

everybody knows how easy the nailpolish on our nails peels if you put too much, and it's not even a huge amount

 

Will dark clothing stain the resin body or is this only true with vinyl dolls?
Thanks.

 

just wondering on this, crayola glitter glue... since its a clear glue i dont think it will hurt the doll, but i wanna make sure, i have a TON of it and was thinking of using it for face up. Especially since its washable.

 

ivorybyrd, if you search for "glitter glue" in this forum, you'll find at least a couple of threads discussing it. One is pretty recent--that's why I remember it.

 

I find that if you have to use Acetone, get a tooth brush to get in those cracks, I was using a needle and thought there had to be a better alternative... it helps reduce hours of scrubbing in the eyelid creases and ears, sorry if this was mentioned before but i wanted to put that out there just in case

 

Missywing: Dark clothing that hasn't been pre-treated will stain resin. I've seen a pair of new jeans stain a NS boy after just a few hours indoors. @_@ A rinse in cold water should set the dye in dark fabrics. :3 Shoes and wigs are another matter and should not be left on for long periods of time without protection if they have a dark lining.

 

When you first receive your doll, how and with what, do you clean it, before spraying with MSC?

And... Is it necessary to unstring your doll before spraying, or can you somehow cover the joints so the MSC wont get in there...I'm guessing it'll stick in the joints or something?

 

You can clean it with a Mr. clean magic eraser, or even dish soap and water, and yes, you should unstring it. :3

 

Hi everyone! I just paid for a second-hand doll, and I was wondering... do I need Mr. Super Clear before I get him? He doesn't have a face-up just yet... Does he need to be sprayed before I handle him (his face) at all? And is Mr. Super Clear UV CUT flat better than just MSC Flat?

 

If you want to do a face-up on him, you HAVE to seal him beforehand, you dont wanna stain him, do you? And seal after you finished the face-up so it doesnt smudge. There's a buncha face-up tutorials if you search for them that will explain more about face-ups.

UV Cut will make yellowing slower compared to the normal MSC.

 

Something I've discovered that works wonders is a hot glue wigcap. I tried the velcro trick but it doesn't work the best if the wig is either slightly too big or too long. My Zepir's wig nearly reaches his feet (and he's an SD!) so that's a lot of weight.

Here's the link to the tut:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...wig-cap-of-sorts-I-made-(18-pictures-tutorial

 

Bah...didn't get any restringing equiptment since I was pretty sure I wasn't gonna have to attempt that There's really no way around it?

 

You don't need stringing equipment, just a long bit of ribbon or string. (There are who knows how many tutorials out there using this method) It's really not a big deal and no, there isn't a way around it if you want the coating to be smooth and lessen the liklihood of chipping the coating immediately as joints grind on damp MSC.

Unless you're body blushing, you really have no need to coat the whole doll anyway, it just attracts filth/dust and a UV coat will only prevent yellowing from sunlight, not the oxidation you're going to get regardless of what you do.

 

I love that

I have a question guys. I am pondering about buying Claire a curly mohair wig... And I'm scared. I have curly hair myself so I know it's a pain but I'm afraid of brushing mohair (never have before) and loosing the curl, and have no clue if I wash it as a regular with (with fabric softener and such) and how to either keep or re-form the curls and all that. Any brilliant ideas? I am looking at THIS Dollmore wig.

Thanks in advanced for any help

And yes! Thank you Zombie for posting this thread!

My 2 cents for the questions I've seen so far.
Keeping in mind my knowledge is limited as I only have the one doll so far
When you get a company faceup, it comes sealed already.
You only need to seal the body before and after (and maybe during) body blushing, if you are going to blush the body. Otherwise, no. My Claire is not blushed, so when she gets dirty, I unstring her, give her a full bath (with magic eraser in a tub of water), let the pieces sit on a clean towel to dry thoroughly (so there is no mold and stuff created inside after she's strung again), and then I restring with new string.
If I am not going to restring, I removed the head and use a damp magic eraser on her whole body, without soaking her or the string, and then dry her with a clean towel and it's done

About yellowing I hear they yellow over time anyway, but there is a sealer that has UV protection which I understand helps with yellowing from exposure to sun light. I should get that because I like taking Claire out, BUT I never leave her sitting in direct sunlight even when we are outside. I wouldn't over expose her to sun even if she was UV sealed though, just in case.

For sizing, I say look at the item description and at the doll's site for her foot measurements. If you have the doll, measure her feet yourself! If the size is close, I would inquire with the company. I had a bad experience where I ordered a shoe that was 72mm according to the site's measurement, and when it arrived it was 64mm, and didn't fit. Now I am stuck with a very pretty pair of high heel sandals that Claire can't wear and she still has no shoes. I am still very disappointed at that. They told me the shoes only come in one size... yet the website still says they have the 72mm I need. So I don't get it.
Boots are easier, because they can be a little big, and look cute and there's no problem. But shoes, specially open toe and strappy sandals, have to be close to the size (a few mm bigger I think).

For clothing, if the company you get your doll from sells clothes (well, that applies to shoes too) for the specific size, I would trust to buy from them for the most part, at least at the beginning, because I am assuming they would know better what fits the specific size of dolls they make, no? Otherwise there might be a thread here about that doll and what fits. And if not, you can always start one

From one newby to another...
1) Hemostats. I have the straight ones, and I can only wish I had more than one pair. They are GREAT for restringing among other things My best restringing (last one I did) I pulled the elastic tails out of the chest, which were holding the arms together. Tightened to where I wanted it, and then used the hemostats to hold everything tight in place while I used BOTH HANDS to tie the securing knots! YAY!!!

2) Chopsticks, to stick between the elastic loops when you are re-stringing. It helps to hold things in place when you only have to attach feet and/or hands. You know. At that time when if you loose the grip on the elastic the whole limb will come undone lol

I hear you can hot glue a wig on to the doll's head. I did this BUT this damaged the wig in my opinion. The other thing is using Velcro to attach it, or some sticky tape stuff. I suggest researching more on that, because I haven't used another method, and am not sure about them (sorry) But I am looking into that myself.

For undies and socks I love Dollmore so far Great quality and wonderful fit. I haven't tried other companies for undies yet, so I can't comment on anyone else. Dollmore is not that bad for prices on little things either.

I hear regular human shampoo might "poofy up" doll wigs too much. I haven't tried cause I'm scared but I did try the soaking in UNSCENTED fabric softener (like the one used for laundry) and that was good. Don't use water too hot just in case the doll hair might melt. Other than that, I hear that wig shampoo and wig conditioner (for people wigs, the synthetic kind) works well, but I haven't tried it myself.


Darnit.... I know I have more to say, but my friend just MSN'ed me saying she's sick and I have to go bring her some stuff and make her some chicken soup... so I might be back later

 

Ok... back for more...
My friend is feeling better, and now she's fed and taken care of

About wigs, I love Monique. I have only had experience with Iplehouse, Monique and Leekeworld. The Iple fits ok, but I glued it and now it has big pieces of glue on the inside that I am afraid to rip. Then again, if it rips, I throw it out. If it doesn't rip, I could use it later. I find from those 3, Monique uses the finest fibers. It feels and looks more like what real hair would look like in doll scale, and it's soft, and easy to brush, and it hugs the head better, and doesn't shift around as much, and has never fallen off.

NataliaTika You are so cute! Thank you for all that great advise. Some of that stuff I didn't know.
And don't worry about your English, I could understand you just fine. My native language is Spanish

On eyes, I've heard some companies use Fimo or Sculpy to secure the eyes which will crack the acrylic eyes. As soon as I got my doll, I checked that. I couldn't tell if it was Fimo or Sculpy or what, so I changed it. I used UHU white poster tack, and it worked perfectly. A week ago I got new eyes for Claire, and since I moved recently, I can't find the pack of tack to change it, so I kneaded the same one I had in there with the old eyes, and reused it with the new eyes, and it's still working great! I'm impressed. I thought by now it would be too dry to reuse.

If you haven't received your doll yet, I suggest keeping yourself busy, so you don't go insane waiting While I was waiting I made her a mattress, and a chair. They were a lot of work, but a lot of fun too! If you can sew without the doll, by all means do it. If not, start collecting little things for her, like hair clips, a wig brush, magic erasers, hemostats, hair elastics, clothes, shoes, socks, stockings, underwear, a wig or 2... I call that the dolly's hope chest It kept me focused and busy the whole 2 months I waited for her, and even before that, when I was trying to make up my mind on which one to order, and waiting for the paycheck that I got her with. I was able to spend small amounts before that on clothes and things, and that was kind of cute. It was like preparing for a baby lol

One website that gave me LOT of info before I got my doll was bjd_wtf on Livejournal.
There is basics there from what is a BJD, why are they so expensive and how to explain that to other non-doll people, taking them apart, stringing, dying, wiring, sanding, tattoos, piercings, etc. Check it out if you haven't

 

Would a soap like Dr Bronners be okay to use for doll cleaning?

 

DON'T DO IT!!!! I went to the site to see what they were and they put all sorts of oils in these soaps. Great for the skin, but I hear that oils are bad for resin. Someone up there said dish liquid, the kind that is harsh on your hands.
I've never used soap on Claire though. I just wash her with a little piece of magic eraser, rinse and dry and that's it.

 

If you are talking about seam sanding then most likely yes you're doll was not sanded- but if you do need to sand the seams you have no option but to un string your doll but that isn't that hard if you keep the knots. Try youtubing some how to videos on how to string your doll.

 

Most of the suggestions here are good.

One thing that people do or don't do (personal preference) but how you leave your dolls positioned when you are just leaving them for a while. I would suggest have them sitting or lying rather than standing (unless you have a doll stand). The risk of them falling is so much greater and a good fall could really hurt the resin.

 

I'm getting really confused about acetone

Some threads say use it and others say never use it!

I find it's the only thing that works for me though

 

Hey everyone!
I have a pretty specific question regarding doll care, how do you take care of synthetic wigs? Even more specific, curled wigs. My poor boy's wig came to me frizzy, and it hasn't gotten any better. Anyone have any suggestions? <:
I don't really want to buy a new wig, because I like the length and I don't think a mohair wig the same length would be as nice. ^^

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

I've heard that soaking wigs in (unscented) fabric softener helps the freezies? I did it to soften a wig once, and it helped, but my wig wasn't freezy so I'm not sure.
I am actually looking into curly wig care. Debating on getting a curly wig for the next doll I order, but afraid of it getting out of control. So bumping to see if anyone can help us I am ordering soon. Pretty please

 

Hi everyone!~

I'm going to buy an outfit from Dollmore that has a lot of black in it soon, but I'm extremely paranoid that it might leave a stain.

The outfit includes a white blouse to go under a black cardigan and I'm going to buy white cotton stockings to go underneath the black skirt and shoes. I'm also going to wash the black clothes before I put them on my doll. Is that enough to guarantee that I won't have any staining problems or is there still a chance that it might still bleed through? Are Dollmore clothes prone to this?

I'd also like some advice on what else I can do to prevent this from happening.

 

I wash all my dollie clothes, which includes the Black DM clothes I got. They turned the water black when I washing them, lols 8D But afterward, when my dolls wear them, there's no stains on them. If the clothes still stained your doll, you could probably easily get them off your doll by wiping her with plain dish soap or water OR just use magic eraser.

 

I hear if you soak fabrics in white vinegar for a bit before you wash that it helps to "fix" the colour so it doesn't run?
I know they sell something at quilting/fabric stores that you wash fabrics with that doesn't let them run all over the place. I just forget what it was called.

 

okay, I just got my girl and I tried on her wig and it keeps sliding around, I know I could buy wig stopper, but I don't have the means at the moment. what are some other ways I could keep the wig stable with out having to order online? ^.^'

 

I use those thick rubber bands that come wrapped around vegetables. xD I only use the light beige colored ones just in case, not pink or blueish ones. Sometimes it requires 2 or 3, but it does the trick quite nicely! ^^
A method I use for fur wigs is a kneaded eraser, found at just about any art supply store.

 

Marah Soore, Congratulations!
I just got my second girl today. Same problem I can't move her without the wig flipping over and falling off. So I took one of the 2 rubber bands I had around my first girls's head and put it on the new one. No more wig sliding/falling! So one rubber band each works fine. I had 2 on the one girl cause I thought I needed extra grip, but I guess not

Distractus, yes! Those are the ones the kind of flat ones works like a charm

 

I'll just ask this here because I'm not sure what other threads to ask it in.
Do dolls come with eye-putty? I know it seems obvious, because NOTHING comes with the doll so why would eye putty?
Anyway, if it doesn't, I really don't want to buy putty and have it shipped out from where ever, so i saw some alternative but here's my question; Someone said, like, blue sticky tack would work or something but wouldn't that stain?

(Run on sentence FTW)

 

NO!!!! don't use blue sticky tack... I use WHITE sticky tack!!!!! It works marvelously, and it can be reused. Last time I had to do a change of eyes, I reused the one in there cause I couldn't find my pack of tack, and it worked great.
Dolls do come with putty if they come with eyes. I think normally they come with the eyes already put in with tack, but some companies I hear use sculpey stuff, which damages acrylic eyes (makes them crack and break) so I suggest as soon as you get your doll, take out the eyes and switch the "putty" they come with for white sticky tack, since most dolls come with acrylics.
If you got a doll that came with glass eyes (I think that's rare for what I hear) then you don't have to worry about the putty they come with cause the sculpey stuff won't damage glass eyes.
But I think the blue sticky tack would definitely stain.

I hope that helps.

 

I use colourless silicone ear plugs in all my dolls and it works great, is reusable, doesn't stain, safe for all manner of eyes and you can find it in pretty much any drugstore. I've found that one earplug generally works for putting 2, 14mm eyes in my MSD's. I need 1 plug per eye for my SD who wears 16mm. The plugs are usually sold in packs of 3 pairs (or 6 plugs) for about $2.99CAN for the store brand ones.

 

Really..... do they look like these sort of?

 

Yep. I use the Rexall ones since that drugstore is almost next door to my work. I've been using them for about a year and a half now. They hold the eyes really well. If you're going to the TDAF meet in December, ask me about it then and I can crack open one of my boy's heads to show you.

 

Thanks! I was almost positive blue sticky tack was bad news, but I wanted to make sure. And the silicone earplugs is interesting, how you use them exactly? Just ripped them up? Do they pull apart easily?

 

Here's a tutorial on how to use it ;3

 

Gah. Doll newb!
I just destrung my Domuya fay, she came to me 3rd hand from someone on this board and I utterly adore her. She's yellowed, and a bit chipped, but what the heck...

...Oh and her joints/insides are covered in green fluff. Errr... I think it's just dust and such from clothing. I don't have magic erasers or anything, would ordinary soap do to remove surface dirt? I'm not touching her face even if it is sealed... I am not brave enough to redo a faceup yet. That said, she's so 'out of it' that she could probably do with being redone and it won't devalue her.

Oh, and SOOM Heliot got some staining to his body blush from resting on grey fabric. Any hints what to do with him? I'm afraid to do ANYTHING with this lovely lad because of his bldy blush. It seems they sealed his gorgeous blooooo feeeeet but nothing else.

 

I've heard that if you have a tendency to have sweaty palms to try and wear cotton gloves when handling faceup-ed/blushed areas and to prevent the oils in your hands causing any damage (although I have no clue how it could cause damage, but I guess it's better safe than sorry). The gloves can be bought at the pharmacy or at cosmetic stores (in the skin care section) and shouldn't be too dramatically expensive.

 

Two hours later...
Fay was full of unidentified black marks, green fluff and more rust than I care to think about. She's been soaked in dishwasher soap and scrubbed with a soft toothbrush - aside from her face - and then the stubborn marks were lifted with cotton buds and acetone. She's already so yellow that if the acetone makes it 'worse' I don't really care. At least she's clean!

Domuya faceups are nails hard. I geeeeently dusted her, then geeeently brushed her... a small montage of cleaning later and I had the toothbrush on her to flick dust from between her lips. Still gorgeous! The only issue was some brown dots on her face, that I tried to lift and accidentally blorked a small part of her blush. The marks are still there, they're RUST DOTS. Augh!!

Any hints for removing rust or shall I leave them as freckles?

 

I got my second girl and she is an aod qian. she was beautiful but her faceup was poorly sealed and arrived damaged.After many tears shed and some dispute with the seller they agreed to replace the head. now, im waiting on her new head to arrive and sewing for the body. Im going to get a new can of msc but Ive never owned a doll with lashes before. how do you seal a faceup without messing up the lashes? can I just spray over them? I have no idea how to remove and reattach them so Im a little concerned.

 

livingdeaddarling: No, you have to remove the lashes first or they'll get ugly. It's not that hard. You just have to make them wet with a q-tip or something and then the glue will dissolve so you can remove the lashes. Well, reattaching is another story. o_o Haven't tried that yet.
Also, you could put something like a piece of paper or something on top of the lashes so that the MCS doesn't reach them. But you have to be careful with the placement so there won't be a border between the sprayed area and the covered one...

 

umm- Ive been using a different sealant until now and I am going to use MSC this time- im guessing i need to use flat laquor? any tips on type and usage would be great

 

I got my DZ annie with a default face up, which isn't going to work for Darya's character. She needs to be totally wiped, and I just got my MSC in the mail.

I've been hearing a lot of things about humidity being really bad for using MSC... I'm in florida and it's hurricane season, how long should I wait before trying to wipe, then seal her?​

 

This thread was lots of help .. Thank you !!
I only have to wonder if color thinner will be good to remove face up ? I read about that somewhere but I can't recall .. I've been wanting to order it since I worry Sanding will cause damages to my doll's face also, does long application make any damages ? do I have to act in certain speed or is it resin friendly ?

 

Really! As everyone says use it for any stains what do you use

 

Hey all! Well I'm a bit new to dolly-owning, so I have a few questions here~

My questions are:
1. How do you properly clean a sealed doll body? The body is not blushed, it's just sealed with MSC UV cut (by myself).

Before coating my doll body, I used to clean it using a sponge with rubbing alcohol, but I guess alcohol will remove the sealant? I sealed my doll body because I don't want it to yellow too soon, I don't know if it really will give an effect though...

2. I read here that MSC will not come off with water, so I wonder if it's fine to clean the body using water and sponge?

3. Is there any downside in coating the doll body with MSC, if it's not blushed?


Thanks in advance!