Supplies EYE PUTTY: the good, the bad, the ugly

i have used white tack its easy enough to find in stationary shops

 

I use the silicone ear plugs. Haven't had any issues with any eyes I own (Eyeco, Souldoll, Dollshe, Luts glass, acrylics).

The Luts stuff isn't bad, but I haven't used it with acrylic eyes - only the Luts glass eyes my Ani was sent with.

The worst was the stuff Dream of Doll uses. It really sucks to get out in the middle of summer because it just sticks to everything and gets gooey like when you're at the end of chewing your gum. It's sooo awful.

 

I have like, three packs of the translucent silicone eye putty from Safrin Doll. Is it safe to use on all glass, acrylic, "soft glass" eyes? I never liked the stickiness of it, but I might give it a try again. I'm probably using it wrong XD

Has anyone had problems with Leeke clay putty? I'm hoping it's okay to use~

 

First off, apologies if this isn't the right forum to post this in...I have too many posts to start a thread in Newbieland. ^^;

Anyways, I'm going to be putting one of my boys on layaway soon and I was wondering something. On a somewhat recent trip to a local Hobby Lobby, I figured I would look around in their adhesives for the heck of it to see if they had any sticky tac. While I was perusing the aisle, I came across this brand called Simply Tacky.

I was wondering if this would be okay to use as an alternative to eye putty? I don't think I'd have to worry about staining persay since it's white in colour, but...I was wondering if any of you have actually used this product? Does it actually hold things in like it's supposed to? It said on the back of the package that "a light greasy area might be left in the area that the tacky is applied to", but it also said that that could be easily removed with a tissue or a Goo-B-Gone pen. Would a "greasy" area do anything to harm the resin? I just want to know I can trust this product before I get it anywhere near a doll! D:

 

Hmmm--I would stay away from anything greasy. Oil is really bad for resin and can damage it over time. (That's why oil pastels and most human makeup are no-nos.) I like to use those moldable silicone ear-plugs for eye putty--most drugstores and supermarkets carry them, and you can usually get 10 earplugs for about $5. You can also order special putty, but I don't bother with it, I just buy the earplugs.

 

Ah! owo; I had never heard of the earplug idea before. XD; I've also read in a couple of threads that some people like to use kneaded erasers, which seems viable, but I have no idea how you'd get that stuff to stick to anything. o_o; Plus the two globs of kneaded eraser I have are already all stained up with pencil lead. ._.; I just thought I'd ask, cause I can't seem to find anything else like this OR sticky tac for that matter, and I'm starting to get worried that I might have to splurge for the Volks eye putty. D:

 

Some kneaded erasers are stickier than others. I learned this a while ago. I bought an eraser from the brand Creative Mark to use to erase pastels but it was just too sticky to use for face ups. So instead, I replaced all the old putty in my dollies' eyes with that stuff. In fact...I think it does its job too well.

I also tested to see if it has any oil in it since it was so sticky by putting it on top a piece of paper and it didn't stain. It's safe

 

If you're looking to actually buy eye putty in the long run (since I noticed you said you may end up splurging for the Volks putty), might I suggest buying from Denver Doll Emporium?

They carry leeke eye putty for $1.50. I've found that one of the little jars is enough for me to use on at least 2 SD dolls' eyes. I always buy my putty from DDE, the price is great, the leekeworld putty has great quality, and shipping from DDE is cheap as well.

 

I use that stuff all the time, they change the name from time to time. Its exactly the same as the blutac people recomend. I have never had a problem with any of the incarnations of this product. I tend to stock up on it, it works great and has never left any sort of residue in my dolls or harmed any of them or their eyes. I've used this on glass, silicon an acrylics... as well as various companies dolls in resin an vinyl.

And I'm not sold on the earplug method, as I've had them screw up the surface of my vinyl dolls an their acrylic eyes.

 

Are you talking about the Simply Tacky or kneaded erasers? o-o Sorry if that seems silly to ask, I just got confused! XD

And I had no idea about the Leeke putty. o-o A friend of mine had only ever mentioned the Volks stuff, so I'll definitely have to take a look at it! Thanks for all the help so far guys.

 

I don't know whether leeke putty is safe or not...but I do know they have some oily substance in them
You know when you get fries there are oil stains on the paper bag, right? Well, the leeke putty did that. They left some residue on a piece of cereal box cardboard when I tested it out. Harmful or not, I wouldn't want to experiment on something as expensive as a doll's head. It's also annoying to remove inside the eye well imo as it has the consistency of clay.

 

nbluju - Leeke putty has oily substance in it? I've used it for aaaages and I've never had an oily batch. That's all I use on my dollies anymore. It has way less waxy and oily/greasy consistency than the putty used by DZ and Doll in Mind that's for sure. But at the same time, those company putties (DZ and DIM I mean) do come off without grease spots or anything like that, but can be a pain getting off cleanly. DZ's isn't soo bad, but the stuff that came in my Flowne's head (DIM) was absolutely horrible. It was just a gooey mass of something.

All the Leekeworld putty I've ever received is dry as can be and comes off completely mess free and isn't a pain at all to remove. It comes off the eye easily and cleanly as well as off the eyewells. Maybe you got a bad batch or something?

This is just my own personal observations, I have Leeke putty in at least 6 of my dolls and never once had any problems from it. But everyone's preference and opinions are different.

 

All this oily talk got me thinking. I'm pretty sure that what we see as "oily" residue is not necessarily the kind of oil that has to be avoided by our dolls. I have made a little experiment with three kinds of eyeputty:

1) Dollmore/Luts/etc. brown putty. The kind that's known to crack acrylic eyes.

2) Sticky tac. I used UHU, but they are all basically the same. On the back, there is indeed the text, that it may leave an oily residue.

3) Silicone earplug.

I put all three on a white paper for 24 hours to observe if they leave any residue on it. What I found out:

Even after a few hours the brown putty had a very visible oily stain under it. After 24 hours it's quite distinct. The silicone earplug also left an oily residue on the paper. So much for the perfect reputation. However the earplug's residue is much less visible than the putty's. And finally the sticky tac that was advertised to leave residue - no mark AT ALL. Really, nothing. It stuck to the paper really well though...

Now about long term effects - I don't know about the silicone or the brown putty, but I have the same sticky tac holding a bunch of wrapping paper on my dolls'room as a wallpaper. After 3 years I can indeed see some discoloration in the paper where the tac holds on. So it also leaves some residue. But it's not true that silicone or other kinds of eyeputty don't.

I think I have a bit from the Leekeworld eyeputty also somewhere...if I find it, I'll try it on the paper, too

 

Personally since 3 years i use silicone earplug, you can find several brand easily brwosing the web,
to me it's quite normal that putty as well as silicone earplug leave oily stains after a while on paper, as it's a porous material.
I've leave for almost 2 years some eyeco silicone eyes into a head fixed with silicone earplug and nothing heppened, nor the eyes, and eyeco easily get dirt or get stained, changed color, nor become cloudy, so for my personal aknowledge silicone eraplug so far it's the best as putty, to use for both eyes and wigs as well.

 

Since I was introduced to the Mack's Silicone Earplugs by Ginarolo, the utmost eye expert, I honestly believe there is nothing better. It's widely available, cheap, semi-translucent, very sticky yet allows to easily reposition the eyes in the sockets for a realistic look.

 

Yes it's true they all have some degree of liquid release for lack of better term...but my reply was saying it's not "oily" or "greasy" perhaps the one person meant the leeke putty had a bit of liquid discharge? If that's what they meant then yes, but everything used as a tack or putty will have that *shrugs*...I was just putting in that it's def. not literally oily

 

Indeed, that was what I was trying to prove - all three materials that I used were tried and tested on dolls and worked really well (except for the brown putty vs. acrylic eyes case). So the fact that they leave residue - or are advertised to leave some - doesn't necessarily mean that they cannot be used on dolls.

I personally really like the white tac I have - I can safely recommend it. I find it easy to use and remove in one piece. The downside is that it hardens a bit over time - so after leaving the eyes in for a longer time, it needs a bit work to start prying them out.

I've recently had the opportunity to try out the silicone earplugs too (I've been longing to try them out). Maybe I was expecting too much, but they didn't work out that well for me. They are awesome for keeping the eyes in, and allowing in-eye positioning, and it's lovely that they are transparent and keep their softness. But I cannot remove them from the eyes without residue and when I'm constantly removing-replacing eyes during a faceup process, it's a bit tedious to always stop and scratch the remaining silicone out of the eyewell.... But I bet this is no factor for someone who just wants to put the eyes in and leave them - maybe set them into different positions.

I'm not fond of the brown putty though. It can be used with glass, urethane and silicone eyes, but it just doesn't seem to have that good of a grip on resin...or on the eyes. It's much harder to properly position the eyes with it (not to mention that it's brown...if there is a gap, transparent or white looks much better than brown...)

 

This is so far the only issue i see, you need to work silicone a bit between your finger if you need to put it back and off frequently the eyes into eyesocket, as for residue personally i switch the hairdryer to cold ad leave for about 30 seconds in the my doll head, or leave your head under air conditioning to cold air for a while, then you can put it off eyes and silicone without any boering residue.

 

I'm strange. I use orthodontic wax. I still have some from when I had my braces. When you knead it with your fingers, it becomes very pliable, but it stiffens when left in the open air, so it doesn't really stick to things much. I can reposition it without major problems, and you can buy the stuff at HEB or similar grocery stores for $1, or ask your friends/kids with braces to get extra at the orthodontist's. One small pack can do two sets of eyes for large dolls, more for smaller ones; I don't coat the entire back of the eye. I use two wads. One goes on top of the eye socket, and the other goes at the bottom. It holds well, and reduces the possibility of having to clean a lot of stuff off an eye.

 

I used the ResinSoul brand that came with my dolls, after a while it goes funky and gets crusty and hard to reuse. :I
So now I use Super Sculpey (which is a semi-clearish flesh colour) and I have had no problems so far~

 

There's loads of posts describing how Sculpey can damage your doll's eyes. I would recommend switching to something else. :/

 

Really? Because I've used Sculpey as eye putty for at least two years and all the eyes I have are %100 ok. Do they just damage glass eyes or something cause all of my eyes are acrylic?

 

It's actually known to damage acrylic/urethane eyes because of the plastics reacting to one another. Here you go:

And

 

I see i've been quoted!!

ahem, but yes it is true - the oils in sculpey will damage ACRYLIC eyes and also the resin if left in too long.

wolfylee - you might not notice anything now..but it will eat through the eyes and resin in due time.

on another note i am going to get some silly putty for the eyes as trying to hot glue them is messy and hard to do.

 

I have no idea what it is, but the eye putty I got with my RS doll off the BBB website is the best stuff Ive ever used!

 

I ADORE the silicone earplugs. Super easy clean up. I was using poster tack previously and I like the earplugs better :>

 

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?388342-Eyeco-eyes-deteriorating-over-time

If you use the earplugs on the soft silicone eyes, you might want to read THAT thread. There's a lot of good information in it, including a notice a member got from the company about the earplugs.

I have all acrylic eyes and one pair is held in with kneaded eraser, one pair with company default putty (its blue, from DZ) and two pair are held in with StickyTac, which is the same as the poster tack. Mine's bright yellow, but I don't care about the colour. I've not had any problems with the sticky tac.

 

i know artist's kneed eraser work wonders plus it doesn't get hard nor does it stain!

 

For everyone on this thread it is safe to assume that you shouldn't use alike products to stick eyes in. There will most likely be some type of reaction that will not end well.

So no silicone on silicone eyes and no sculpey on acrylic eyes and anything else like that.

 

I use Sculpey, just the regular oven bake clay kind. But I don't use white I use one that is more of a skintone. I have never had any damage to eyes and I have used it for years. I've left eyes in with this stuff for years in fact. (Took a two year break from the doll hobby, left all eyes in and such) Yes, it gets greasy in humidity and I have to be careful that I don't slime my hands and get it on the faceup, but so far nothing has melted because of it. I do use glass eyes, not acrylics, however. THAT could be an issue I suppose, but I have no experience with long term sculpey on acrylics to reference.

 

I really wouldn't use Sculpey. Too risky. Like a lot of other people have said, Sticky Tac/ Blue tac is really great.

 

I got my first bjd and had eyes and no eyes putty!!! oh no! but thankfully I have polymer clay in translucent!

And they eyes are silicon! works great no melting, mess etc.

 

I had been using Sculpey for awhile now. The only bad thing about is that it would damage
(somewhat melt) your acrylic doll eye especially if you leave them on for awhile without changing it.
So i stop using acrylics and been using glass eye (which i loved alot btw).

 

i use faber castle tack it, the ''default'' eye putty that dollzone gave sucks and i was very pissed when i had difficulty removing it

 

I use glue tack, it works really well and it is cheap, however it does really stick to the resin once its on! but at least the eyes don't come out! There is also this eye putty I got with one of my dolls and it is like butter, so soft and really works well, but I don't know what it's called or where to get it, so I just use the glue tack hope that helped

 

I still swear by Uhu white poster/sticky tack. It leaves no residue and is easy to install once you knead it a couple of times. Though I do warn leaving it on for a long time since it gets hard consistency wise and also a little harder to take off (and still no residue).

 

I've been using the silicone circles you can purchase just for BJDs. They're clear, hold well, and come off easy. You can easily mold them however you like. A little goes a long way. I definitely recommend them.

 

I have a related question: I have the volks stuff, now I know it's rubbish and not just me. It was quite expensive and I had to import it so I'd like to keep using it as long as I can (I also use white tack which is much better). My question is does anyone know how to bring the putty back to life, mine is the pink stuff and has gone hard and crumbly (in the so called airtight container) and because I don't know what's in it, I don't know what medium is safe to try to soften it up again? Any help would be gratefully received!

 

I suppose it has been mentioned before, but I always use Pritt poster buddies. The stuff doesn't damage the resin or face up for that matter. I also use a little to make them keep their face palms for a picture. The gets a bit stiff but that's good. It will get more pliable and suitable for re-use once you knead it. One packet is enough for like 10 to 15 dolls, depending on size and it's inexpensive. It's sold in The Netherlands so I suppose it should be available in the UK as well.

I even use it to put on beards:

 

I had no idea there was so much to learn about eye putty. x_x
Definitely NOT using sculpey. If a doll comes with eyes by default, are they usually already installed with the company's own putty, or just in a baggie in the doll's box? Like Resinsoul, for example?

 

Sometimes they're already in sometimes they're just in a bit of bubble wrap or something. I know with my last bbb/rs doll I think I got two pair, one that was installed in his head (and that came out imediently because the putty was gross) and one pair of glittery dark green glass eyes wrapped in bubble wrap in the box.

 

I think you have the discontinued putty. Volks has since replaced it with a newer putty that I really like-its very pliable and easy to apply. It comes in two skin tones-normal and white skin:

normal skin tone putty

white skin tone putty

 

I use MACK'S pillow soft earplugs for my doll, I got them at Walmart for five bucks near the pharmacy items lol. It only takes about half of one to fix the eyes inside the dolls head, but then again that may just be me considering Tulle is a tiny. Half of one plug takes up pretty much the entire inside of her face.

 

Silicon earplugs are the BEST! They stay soft forever, and half of an earplug is enough for each eye. Once the eyes are in the putty, you can easily move them around to different positions without even having to take them out. It leaves no residue and since its clear (or cloudy whatever) it doesn't stain at all. I bought a pack for 5 bucks and it came with 12 plugs, which is enough for 12 heads! I only have one doll X3

 

I use museum putty. I work in a glass gallery and so we have PLENTY of that stuff... Not to mention we found a bunch of the packs at a resale shop for like 99 cents each lol. Museum putty is white and is definitely made NOT to hurt things.

 

I hate some eye putties that are very messy and you have to dig out before you can move or change the eye. I personally use a worm like shape wrapped around the eye. This means it is easier to change the direction of the eye from photoshoots.

 

I've never heard of museum putty before! Quake Hold? Definitely worth a try, the reviews look good.

 

If you have the soft glass/silicone eyes do NOT use the silicone ear plugs for putty!

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?388342-Eyeco-eyes-deteriorating-over-time

This is a thread about all the problems that have been happening, and a notice from one of the eye companies about the ear plugs. So if you like your eyes, and use those kind, it MIGHT be a good idea to read it.

 

Hi all!
I have too many posts to ask in the newbieforum so here goes:
Is it safe to hot glue eyes? Will they come off easily again?

I've heard that hot glue (dried) is great for keeping a wig in place and won't stain the head and that it's great for making the joints softer.This is why I wonder if it wouldld be safe to hot glue the eyes in any way. Has anyone done it? How did you do it? Got any pictures or tutorials?

I've read through: The big good ,bad and ugly eye putty thread
but didn't seem to find any good answers to the hot glue question.

I would be very grateful for any help.
Thank you very much

Sincerely
TLM

 

Volks default eyes are all hot glued in, however they are apparently a PAIN to get out again, and you can't adjust the eyes easily if one happens to shift during placement. Removal apparently requires forcefully digging at the hot glue, which sometimes damages the inside of the head.

The reason hot glue works as a wig stop or as mock-sueding is that it is applied in a very thin layer, so its easier to pick off in the long run (still not completely easy though).

 

I’ve been using the silicon earplugs for about two year now, and really like them, but it’s been so dry here in Texas that they’re kind of drying up/shrinking. As it shrinks it pulls away from the inside of the head pulling the eyes along with it making them wonky eyed. It also doesn’t want to stick to the resin and it doesn’t knead back together well. Anyone else had this problem, and found a way to bring the earplugs back to their former glory? Right now I’m just buying new earplugs whenever their’s get funky.

 

The hot glue is safe as long as you use a low temperature glue gun. I use hot glue for my eyes because I'm terrible at using the putty but I only use about 3 small dots per eye to hold it in. That way I don't have to dig it out when I want to change it. Just put one drop and hold the eye in place for about 10 seconds and place the last two drops the same way. It's easier for me anyway. xD

 

Anyone having a problem with silicon earplugs? When I take my dolls eyes out, its stuck all up in my girl's head. I have to scrape it off every time. Otherwise its great stuff.

 

Hello! Does anybody knows, can I use the wax plasticine to attaching doll eyes? I left a piece of it on a white paper during the day - greasy spot does not appear. But I'm worried about the wax component - can it be harmful for the doll?@_@

 

`hi, `im totally new to collecting and love my new dolls but a few came in with kind of scary eyes that `i want to change . `one is a Volks and it seems like the eyes are glued in = brand new , so what is the best way to remove the glue so `i can change out the eyes. thanks, ks

 

A friend of mine suggested the silicone ear plugs from walmart work really well to hold the eyes in. it sticks to the resin to hold the eyes in but does not stain because its clear. I've read in this post not to use them on soft eyes. What about the hard glass eyes?

 

The same thing happens to me! I wonder if "drying out" the earplugs a bit would help?

I think your doll will be okay
I haven't heard of many problems about harm to the doll because of it.

Welcome! :3
Have you tried using a hair dryer on a warm setting? It wouldn't take long I think, if you aimed it into the doll's head when it was open.

The silicone ear plugs work really well with hard glass eyes. It shouldn't be harmful for them.

 

This is kind of a late reply but I have the exact same problem TorTor has with silicon ear plugs! After a while they dry up and get hard and discolored! They also are not all that sticky and since a lot of my dolls are vinyl with slick eye backs with zero beveling the earplugs don't stay in worth a darn.

Now I know a lot of dollfie dream owners hotglue the eyes in place but I personally hate hot gluing a dolls eyes in place becuase it's so annoying to change them and I don't like to use sticky tack that is colored becuase of fear of staining my vinyl dolls.



I bought mine near the checkout at hobby lobby and I love it. It a little stickier then regular sticky tack and is white so it wont stain!

 

I bought a BBB Devlin from a doll shop this weekend, he's super cute and I love him, but I noticed his eyes were a bit dirty. It looks like he's got some putty stuck on the front.



So I go to take his eyes out, and he's got this really weird putty. It's a dark green. And when I tried to pry it up, it only chips off.

This putty is completely solid!

I'm soaking him in water right now (he doesn't have a face-up, so I'm not worried about that), but I don't know what I'll do if I can't get it off.

Pictures of the putty:


Any advice?
Does anyone know what this putty is?

 

Ive never really heard of green eye putty 8S Are you sure someone didn't try to use that mighty putty stuff on him?