Dyeing a Doll

It is a shame about the first attempt but the second did come out beautifully and it is a gorgeous colour, even if it isn't the one you were after.

Teddy

 

Thank you Arkelle! I scrubbed down the doll with a magic eraser and also wore gloves to prevent transferring any oils from my hands, and when I took them out of the dye bath they went directly into a sink full of cold water. Still came out blotchy. But you may be right that I used too much dye - it sounds like I should have used a tiny pinch of dye and let the pieces stay in the weak dye bath a lot longer. Live and learn I guess! Hopefully someone else will see these posts and their doll will turn out better when they see what NOT to do.

 

What Arkelle was feeling at is that you also need to scrub them post-dye. The dolls I did came out splotchy, but evened out almost completely after a light magic eraser scrub.

 

Help!!
I bought a $29 DFA head from AC with plans to dye it light green. I dyed him green but the resin took it all weirdly. Because his nose is different color, I am assuming the head was pour with more than one resin mixture. The IOS hands I dyed at the same time came out perfectly.

So my question is, should I try dyeing it again or just knuckle under and airbrush it?
Green dye by SteamWitch, on Flickr

 

Wouldn't dyeing again make it a darker green?

 

It probably would make it all darker green and the lighter parts would be darker but still be lighter than the darker ones, ugh.
Maybe I should give him a ton of skin texture to even it out?
Just do a faceup and see what happens?
As you can see I'm trying to find excuses not to airbrush him.

 

Well, airbrushing chips, too, unless you use a clear resin to seal (which I need to do with Cerghan, cuz he chipped all over the place). Skin texture might even it out. Did you try a Magic Eraser?

 

Yes I tried it and it did nothing to the darker spots. I scrubbed him good before and after I dyed him, the same as I did with the hands which are gorgeous, so I really don't want to darken his head.
I think since his nose is the biggest indication that he was the result of different batches of resin used on him they took the dye differently. I think skin texturing is what I need to do. Freckles too. I bought an acrylic paint set and have loads of colors to combine to match or near match the skin. I think I'll give it a try.

 

@SteamWitch Oh, honestly it doesn't look like the dye came out too bad at all. I think the slight unevenness could easily be corrected with a little extra blushing in the faceup, no problem, but perhaps it looks more severe in reality than in the photo.

But yeah, if you stick it in the dye again he's likely going to have the exact same uneven patches, just made darker, if it is indeed surface resin issues. When their are flaws in the surface of the resin or it wasn't mixed properly when pouring in my experience it really doesn't matter how careful you are about dyeing, they'll still come out uneven in the exact same way just due to the differences in the resin itself. If you were to sand away the entirety of the surface layer of flawed resin then it's possible it could be re-dyed more evenly, but there is potential to make it worse by doing that too so that's a definite last resort in my book, especially on the face. That definitely doesn't seem necessary here. Though you could also remove the dye with non-surface-abrasive means (acetone-free nail polish remover/ Ethyl Acetate) and then re-dye just in the off chance the unevenness was dye related and not resin related.

 

Sounds like a good idea! You can really cover uneven color with texture, since that's part of the look. Good luck! I'm sure he'll be stunning!

 

Thanks! I hope so!

 

I feel for you - I dyed a Narsha who came out beautifully even everywhere except the head, which came out blotchy and uneven no matter what I did.

I assmed it was because she was an older doll and had been through quite a number of faceups so all that painting and wiping had effected the resin in some way. I bought a new head at reduced price from Dollmore in the end, but have yet to get around to trying to dye it.

Honestly, though, fro the picture your green head doesn't look that bad, I should think that the shading and painging of faceup would easily disguise it.

Teddy

 

Thanks @Teddy, @Arkelle I'm going to do a faceup on him just as he is and see how he comes out. His hands dyed at the same time came out beautifully, so it was surprising when the head turned out like this.

 

Here is how he turned out after several colors of texturing. I'm really happy. The photo was taken last night and the lamp&camera got his skin tone right just made his golden blond wig pink.
Afra WIP by SteamWitch, on Flickr

Made a wig for him and put him on a stand for now.
2020-01-04_09-51-51 by SteamWitch, on Flickr

 

Excellent! Glad you managed to sort it to your liking.

Teddy

 

Thanks @Teddy. My husband and I love the character and for him to say I did a great job - well I did a happy dance.

 

I've decided to dye my old 2013 Island Doll 60cm body for Afra. He was snow white but has yellowed and he is translucent. I'm hoping for a good dye job after I scrub his hide well and get right of all the dirt, sueding and sealant off of him. Prep time on an older doll is the longest part of the process.

 

I did it. I finally got a chair to sit in and continue working once I got him all cleaned up.
Scrub down by SteamWitch, on Flickr
Perfect match, I'm so pleased!!!
Perfect match by SteamWitch, on Flickr
Hard to tell it's green but it is.

 

Oh, well done!

Teddy

 

Now he is all textured and put together.
I am disappointed with my collection of watercolor pencils; there is a vast absence of light tans/blond for his eyebrows.

 

Nice.

Some blonds do have barely-there eyebrows (and I'm brunette and have barely there eyebrows due to my thyroid issues) so it's not unusual to have very unnoticable brows, perhaps it's a function of his green-skinned heritage...?

Teddy

 

I haven't seen really much ways of doing a dye job on clear resin parts of a BJD, but the 2nd hand mermaid I got was much less vibrant than I'd hoped for and had yellowed a bit. So I thought it wouldn't hurt to try dying it. I wasn't too worried about unevenness of the dye since her tail is already textured to begin with so i'd be difficult to tell. I got Rit DyeMore Sapphire Blue for $3usd from hobby lobby. and used about a gallon of water with a normal spoon of the dye liquid.

Spoiler

This is how the promo pics were for the blue tail (choice between blue or purple tails)
https://cn.angell-studio.com/tmp/madeimg/aspic/DL318073/1.jpg
how she came to me


Disassembled you can see the yellowing esp well in the first segment


start of the dyeing process. I mostly used a smaller pot at the beginning for the first dippage of the tail segments and then switched to a large pot for the large torso and tail fins and then a redippage of the tail segments



and pic prior to final wash of all the segments with soap and toothbrush


Color hasn't really changed between the last pic and after washing with soap and water, but the segments needed to dry and then i lost daylight

Next on the to do list is to attempt to dye the chest/arms to match the head cap

Spoiler

 

Hello everyone! So i am going to attempt to dye a few dolls. Ill be using idye poly since it seems to be the most recomended. Ill be going from normal/yellow skin to a nice warm golden tan. Any recomendations for what colors to mix to get this color?

 

I used Idye poly brown and golden yellow mixed together. Stir frequently and keep the parts moving in the dye at all times.

 

Should i go with a 1:1 ratio to start then just add brown or gold till I find what I am looking for? Or is there another ratio I should start with. I know either way I'm going to have to tweak it. Also about how many packets will I need?

 

Partial packets and definitely more gold than brown. I like Rit Dyemore since it is already a liquid and Rit webpage has a recipe chart that tells what the ratio is to get the color you want. Make sure you are using the Dyemore chart since the regular dye is there too and the recipes are different.

 

Will dyemore work? I havent read much good about it for dying dolls. i would prefer it though. i feel like ill be able to get more out of it.

 

I've used Rit Dyemore with pretty good (imo) success for color matching resins and straight up just adding pure color.
Some examples of my dyeing bellow.
/threads/fixing-up-a-grail-first-forray-into-dyeing.827065/
/threads/a-very-long-handy-adventure-story.834215/

Some dye will come out if you use aceton, alcohol, or brush cleaner if you add too much dye as well.

 

A couple of my doll dyeing projects

 

@bahboh Wow! That mermaid came out gorgeous! My first job will be to get the hang of things on my practice head. Then I have a body I need one shade of tan, then I'll get another one later that needs to be a different shade. I'm really nervous about messing them up. I have dyed clothes and wig wefts before, so I'm hoping it'll be relatively similar. So its alcohol or acetone to remove dye? I was really confused which one it was. And do I use urea or whatever is on the bottle? I went and looked at the Dymore color chart and they didn't have any shades I really liked. You think brown and yellow will work?

@SteamWitch Oh i love that gradient on the little ghost cat. Those colors are awesome.

 

Both will remove rit dyemore. Maybe not completely, but at least some will come out.
No urea necessary for rit dyemore. The bottle holds liquid dye which I dilute in hot not boiling water
The dyemore color chart is just a guide of possible colors ppl might want. You can def do your own mixes just like with paint. I just have super pink, daffodil yellow, sapphire blue. And with those I think I can make any color I want.

 

Alrighty. Luckily I have a decent amount of both so I'll experiment with both and see what I like best. Oh just hot? Like almost boiling? Or just kinda steaming? Makes sense those would work. They are pretty much primary colors. I'm thinking I'll just get yellow and brown and go from there. I only really want tan. And I suck at mixing colors, so I want to keep it simple.

 

I use a candy thermometer and try to keep it at 190-195F

 

I am soon buying a throw-away pot to venture dyeing my minifee a tan colour... will Rit Dye in Sandstone be enough on its own? Or is it too yellow? Also can the pot be just metal or should it be non-stick?

 

Check to see that the dye you get is dyemore, regular Rit won't do right, and get a cheap stainless steel pot, non-stick doesn't matter but don't get aluminum.

 

thanks! Yes I got the Rit Dyemore for synthetic. I'll look for a cheap pot and get on with it :>

 

Did my first dye job today! I am very happy with it actually. In hindsight I think I will go a bit lighter when I dye the dolls I want to dye, but all in all, a very good experience. I will need a bigger pot and more dye, but I think I will be just fine with my more important dolls. Even better I took note of how much dye I used as well as how much time I kept her in there.

Spoiler

There is a bit of marbling on the headcap, but I also forgot to wash it before I dyed, so I understand why it happened at least.

Got the headcap and head to match really well too.

And the part where the string was kinda lets you see what color she was before the dye.

I am just kicking myself because I totally forgot to take before and after pics. Anyways. Here is a freshly tanned Frankie. She is my practice head, and Akagi Doll Ban if anyone is curious.

The only issue I had was with her headcap. Using the magnet and a wire did not work. It kept falling and I had to fish it out. anyone have a better way of dipping it?

 

Aquarium nets! They're what I use for small parts (and will probably use going forward for all parts to avoid string marks), and they work really well.

As for the marbling on the headcap, have you rinsed the headcap and rubbed it with a wet cloth or paper towel to take off residual dye?

 

Oh thats a good idea. Would a hairnet work? Though the aquarium net has a handle so you can keep your hands away from the water. I'll see what I can find.

Umm i rinsed it off, but i didnt use any cloth or paper on it. Just held it under the running water for a bit.

 

Aquarium nets are pretty cheap, and the handle does keep your hand safe from the steam.

I'd suggest giving the piece a little rub-down in some clean water (running or just a bowl); in my own dyeing experience, things that looked blotchy evened out pretty nicely after rubbing off the surface residue. No promises, but it's definitely something to do anyway just to prevent any future dye transfer onto other things!

 

Just got a net today actually. I saw it and it was cheap. Should be big enough for dipping just headcaps and feet and stuff. Do I need to worry about the dye transferring between dye jobs? Or will just a good rinse between colors be ok?

I will give her a nice rub down tomorrow probably.

 

As long as it's rinsed of any residual dye, it should be just fine. Dye binds to the surface, and any dye left in the net should similarly be bound in place.

 

Well I am going attempt a dye job, possibly this weekend! I got the dye and a net (thanks for the tip @vicemage ) so all I have to do is clean the heck out of the doll and do the deed. I’m a little scared. The head I want to dye has been with me for over a decade D:

 

Good Luck! I hope it turns out how you want it to!

 

thank you! I’m cleaning parts like a fiend and I’m so worried about it matching now because I discovered that my body- which I’ve had put away for months now - is NS not WS like for some reason I thought it was. The head is very yellowed WS... so I’ll probably end up blushing it to match after dying (which I fully intend to do still! Hopefully tomorrow).

 

That's what I am going to do with my next dying project. Got the body in white so I can dye it to the right color, then the head is just gonna be blushed to match again. I think that will be easier than trying to get two different skin tones matched with the same dye.

 

Good luck, @VampireAngel13! That does sound nerve-wracking; the dolls I dyed were both bought specifically to dye and I was nervous about them!

 

I’ll still be dying the head, I’ll blush it after assuming it doesn’t match the body when I’m done (I’m sure it won’t lol... tho I might be able to get close by futzing with the color mix.). I’m way mor confident in my blushing skills, but I’m determined to try dying first! *doooooom*

thank you!!! Lol it occurred to me as I was scrubbing the hell out of my migidoll ryu head that’s had about a million faceups over the years, that it would have been so much easier to start with a new head! I’ve never so thoroughly cleaned a head in my life! I’m really hoping I got all the MSC residue off. I guess I’ll find out.

 

@VampireAngel13 Good luck! I hope it all turns out well.

 

@SteamWitch Thank you!!! Me too!

@vicemage I have a question regarding the aquarium net, if you don't mind (for us dye noobs) - did you dip with the net, or fish the parts out with the net? I'm wondering if netting is better than using string all together?

Gonna try it today hopefully!! D: D:

 

I used it to dip the parts, instead of string, so they wouldn't hit the edges of the pot and risk weird patches or singing, and so the pieces wouldn't get any streaks from the string (the pieces I ombre-dyed do have streaks, unfortunately, but the doll I did in full is streak-free!). The mesh on the net doesn't really let the dye pool anywhere, and a little swish in the dye bath made sure the whole piece got hit (though I'm not sure if it would have really been a problem).

Good luck! I've got my fingers crossed for you!

 

that's great, that's what I was thinking I'd do, but I'm happy to hear it works before trying!! Thank you so much for your help
And the luck! I dug up some extra parts (that were replaced on other dolls) to do tests on, so hopefully I'll get a good idea of what it'll look like before dropping the actual doll in XD

Thanks again!!

IT WORKED IT WORKED

I'm trying to post a photo but flickr is being an ass. It's not doing anything D:

Doll dying

Link to parts in a sink. It's not 100% I was aiming for, but it's still really nice, and considering the extreme yellowed WS of the head vs the NS of the body, the fact that they're the same color now is amazing to me and I'm super happy with her. So yay!! Thank you for the tips @vicemage they were a huge help!!

 

Oh, he turned out great! He's going to look fantastic once you get him put back together!

 

Yay!

Teddy

 

Thank you!! I'm very excited. I think she'll look great as Wonder Woman now (the pastiness of the original color(s) was bugging me) and I'm really excited to do the faceup...which won't happen forever since it's like 2° out and snowing. But it gives me time for the bronze and gold pearl-ex I ordered to get here. Aaaannnd to figure out hair since my one black wavy wig looks like a rats nest. And clothes. She' massive compared to my next biggest girl. But that has nothing to do with this thread!

 

That color is perfect for Diana and will look awesome with her costume (and whoops on me totally not looking at more than the head the last time!)--I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for your progress on her!

 

Ha ha I don't think her chest was visible in the pictures, and Ryu is usually a boy (and in my collection has been since 2008) so no worries! I'm really happy, I strung her up and plopped on her rats-nest wig (it's not that bad now after I brushed hit out and washed it yesterday but I do need to get a new one for her) and she looks so good!! The color is just golden enough Thank you again, your tips were invaluable, they made everything so easy. I'm going to have to attempt a dye job on future dolls now (because I know I can lol)

 

So, new question. For those of you who have dyed dolls...how do you deal with removing faceups? Won't it remove the dye too?? I'm not there yet, but y'know, thinking of the future.

 

Almost anything that removes a faceup will remove dye. Best not to dye a head with a faceup on it as the dye will stick to the different sprayed areas differently darker or lighter and it will be blotchy.

 

I had to re-dye my Banji Nac Mac Feegle's head four times before I gave up and went with the faceup as was.

Teddy