Hot Glue: Fast, Easy, and Cheap Sueding Alternative

I just hot-glue sueded Amelia last night (she's an IH Freezia). It's definitely an improvement on her posing, even though I still have to work with her a bit. Even so, she can sit up straight now and she stands much more firmly. I'm going to try re-doing it today to see if I can make it work better. I think she needs to be re-strung and wired to get the kind of posing I want, though.

Also, to avoid burning yourself on the hot glue, use an oil-free moisturizer on your hands before you start gluing. (I use plain old Jergens or Vaseline "intensive rescue".) This will let the glue slide off of your finger, which prevents it from clinging to the skin and burning it.

 

I did this to my Micah and it got dirty, REALLY fast. It worked well but it got dirty very fast and started pulling up and showing at the joints and causing them not to fit right.

It almost masde me miss the smooth movement without it so I ripped it out during a cleaning earlier this week.

 

Instead of pressing it with my finger: I often use the side of the nozzle of the gun itself, while it's hot, to "iron" the glue smooth. If releasing the trigger doesn't keep your gun from still leaking (like my gun, which is for crap), you can pull out the glue-stick while you're smoothing, to make things neater.

Or, while the glue's still warm, I push the joint back together, hard. Then it squishes into the shape that the ball's going to take... I find this is good for small/close-fitting joints, where you don't have a lot of room for thick layers. Like elbows, just a flattened dot on the 'prongs' on either side of the ball.

The wizardly Hobbywhelmed once recommended to me breaking off the little "safety" prongs near the nozzle, so that you can reach way into a deep socket, like the thighs & hips of the bigger boys. I haven't dared this yet myself, but I would take her advice on principle. ^^

 

I tried using the nozzle to smooth the glue down, but it didn't work as well for me. I'll try the other trick my mashing the joint together. That might work for me as well. ^^

 

I sueded all three of my SD boys with this method and found that it's a quick and easy thing to do. I used the nozzle of the gun to spread the glue around in the socket instead of my finger (because I'm a wuss boohoo) and while it ended up not being all that smooth, it still grips just fine. I got my gluegun at wal*mart for two bucks. Sweeet.

It isn't even necessary to restring... which I thought it was when I first read about it.

 

Hey, sorry if this has been mentioned already, I must have missed it, but how do you get dried hot glue off? I want to get all the glue out of my doll's sockets but its proving difficult, I've been picking at it but the only thing thats coming off is my nailpolish. Then I tried hacking at it with a razor blade but all I ended up doing is nicking and cutting my doll!! Its very frustrating and I'm scared it won't come off!!

 

Has anyone tried hot gluing a mnf? They have that extra piece in their hip joint and im not sure how to go about sueding my mnf miyu.

 

I've just done this with my Dollmore Model and Iplehouse Soori and the results were very good! I will share my technique. My method is good for those who can't find low-temp glue guns.

First of all, I find that heating up the gun, melting the glue stick with the tip then applying the melted part to the resin works well; even better than when I tried to squirt the glue from the gun. There are no burns because the glue cools off some when you move it from the tip to the doll. It works best with hi-temp glue guns as opposed to low-temp guns; I tried it with the "cool" setting and it was too messy. If the glue gets too goopy and lumpy you can use the tip of your gun to soften the glue, then use your finger and smear it flat it so that it becomes smooth.

 

i'll try the hot glue thing, but my boy stand fine for now -.-

 

Try cooling the glue, cold can make it come off easier. Ice packs or those squishy flexi packs or just stick the doll in the fridge for an hour.

 

I've heard most people recommend using a hot glue gone perferable without any glue sticks in it and heating it up and then using the tip to heat and soften the glue so that you can pick and peel at it to get it out.

 

I did this to my Renee today! Well, Renees are stinkers, you know. She kept kicking me! The results are AMAZING.

She can now dance the Macarena and stand on one foot. She feels so SOLID now.

I'm going to do all of my dolls. I find JennyNemesis's technique for smoothing the glue works well, but I also used my fingers. There's a short window where it's gooey but not too hot too touch, and my marked fingertip whorls made a really nice texture ^^.

 

can anyone tell me what is the maximun wattage for a low temp gun? I have severals home but I'm not sure with one to use, normal voltage been diffrent in some country.

 

It works wonders with a DoI's arms too XD Yey! Although, after getting excited posing him and such, the glue started to peel off on its own after a while...need to buy more glue sticks ^^

Edit - Suggestions
Ooh! I found it easier to squish and smoothen the glue by dipping my fingers in water before patting the glue down. It made it easier to mold and squish it like clay. Just have some tissue ready in case of leakage ^^



- I suggest cleaning your doll first before applying glue...those marks are from his previous and failed sueding ^^)
- Protect their faces!!
- Have a lot of gluesticks ready.
- Although, I don't know what I was thinking by dipping my index finger in water and using my thumb to press the glue....soo i ended up dipping all my fingers in water XD just in case)

 

So I can understand how to suede arm, leg hips etc... but I just can't quite figure out how your suede the torso of a doll. Other than frequently hugging himself or kicking his legs back when I try to stand him, Hansel has the problem of an arching back that either snaps forward or pops back. I know it's because of tight stringing but I can get his back to stay straight for a few seconds if I try. I know he just needs more friction there to keep his upper and bottom torso from sliding.

Could I perhaps get some pictures of a sueded doll torso or is that something I should just leave alone because it doesn't work? :/

 

I decided to try this on Logan finally, since his arms would literally just drop out of any position. Although I think my index finger is now missing its print, the results are amazing! Logan can hold all the poses now, and even touch his face. ^^

 

what about velvet or something? Has anyone tried this

 

If you look for pliver on ebay that works too. It's thinner than suede and can be bought as scraps

 

does pliver work as well? I think I read it wears easily, but I really don't know as this is my first doll. I just got her so I will be playing with her quite a bit

 

So if your doll is pretty much floppy and the joints don't agree with you, will this hot glue technique work? Or will I have to fully restring my lovely Dollzone Floy? @_@

 

I use moleskin and haven't found it to wear out exceptionally quickly. I fully unstring and bathe my dolls at least twice a year, and so have to remove it then, and that seems about right for the lifespan of a moleskin suede job. The only problem with moleskin suede is the adhesive. I've not found it to yellow or damage, but it's a pain and a half to remove all the sticky if you decide you don't want the moleskin anymore.

There's always KIPS, which are fantastic things and can be used in any doll!

 

I actually found some faux suede samples so they were free.
Yes think what you like but I'm a grand in so I'm pinching the penny...
Anyway what's the safest easiest glue?
I'm a newb so I will not be unstringing her to suede. What dries the fastest and is the easiest to clean off when re-sueding needs to be done? or if boo-boos occur

 

How did the tacky glue work and is there a particular brand to use?

i wish someone would post a picture tutorial of how to suede with hot glue.

 

What about hot glue sueding. I went to a class at Dollectable and it is totally easy and do able. My friends doll got it done and he was totally flopping before and it pretty much fixed him. He had kips and that didn't help. There's my two cents.

One more thing when you go to clean and restring your doll it comes off really easily. You just peel it off.

 

I've wanted to use hot glue- the low temp stuff. But I'm way to afraid to destring him, can I use the same string or do I need to use new string. but anyway I heard that hot glue works great and it's really easy to take off, ya can just peel it off.

 

There's fabric suede (poly/cotton) and animal (pig/cow) suede. I used regular fabric suede from the fabric store and it worked fine. I put it on with Aileen's tacky glue (also from the fabric store) and that worked great. It holds well but isn't permanent and doesn't stain.

 

I just abandoned my suede kit and bought a low temp glue gun.
I didn't have to do a full destringing on my SD10... though I had things partially taken apart because I was all set to use real suede.

I just held the limb away from the socket while glue gunning, then let it cool a few seconds and put the limb in the other direction and glue gunned the rest of the socket... seems to work ok!

My SD10's arms were pretty floppy and the hot glue really helped a lot.
I didn't even completely destring. I did take the torso and legs apart because I had been planning on using real suede. I pulled back the limb from the socket (well, more like turned it so the string would be off to the side), glued around the socket and the string, let it cool, then move the limb to get the string on the other side of the socket, and filled in the glue.

I probably used more hot glue than was necessary but I did like that I could peel it out if I made a mistake.

My dual temp hot glue gun (bought at Michael's) didn't melt the resin, yay.

 

I love this fix, only problem is that I find that the glue comes out pretty fast, even the day after I suede with moderate play. How long does it take for everyone else's to fall out?

 

I just did mine yesterday so I don't know, but maybe you can wipe down the resin surface for better adhesion, and/or try a different type of glue stick (or maybe even a new glue gun)? Just a thought.

(The first few globs I put in did come out really easily, either because it was so small or the glue gun hadn't heated up enough, but some where I put in more glue seemed reasonably "set," though maybe it was also warmer from the gun warming up. I'll be checking the joints over the next week, I think!)

 

Pliver is sheepskin. And it's very thin, thinner than cow suede (though the thickness varies). It does eventually wear smooth, though I have had some dolls pliver sueded for two years and they are still holding poses great.

Also, sometimes hot glue holds on like gangbusters and WON'T just peel off, and you have to pick it out. I've found that less is more when using glue. If you put too much in the socket, the ball won't fit in the socket properly. So try a little first, just around the hole in the socket.

Linda S.
galatia9

I think that some brand new BJDs might have residue of mold release on the pieces that was not cleaned off properly. Or it might be different qualities of resin. I've been using the same bag of glue sticks since I started glue sueding, and on some dolls, the glue hangs on like grim death, and on other dolls it peels right off.

I think that cleaning out the sockets before gluing might help adhesion. I've never had a problem with the glue not sticking to my own dolls, but I did glue suede a Fin once, and I had to apply the glue numerous times before it would finally hang on.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

Are there any hot glueing tutorials or tips?

 

Look in the Engineering "stickies" at the top of the Painting, Customizing and Esthetics forum.
Linda S.
galatia9

 

Yea I got hasty and experimented myself, and so far so good! I just did a few drops and she came out fine! It won't melt will it? I actually used a high temp gun which I just read it a no-no but I was careful not to let the gun touch the resin. (it was a cheap Wal-mart gun, I don't know if that makes a difference or not)

So yea her arm is still giving me trouble though. It definatley holds out better but it still flops. Did I do it wrong??

 

I just finished hot glue sueding my doll with a Crafters Choice Low-temp glue gun from our local Spotlight. Cost me $6.99 and the 2 glue sticks that came with it were more than enough to completely suede my DOT Camine.

The glue gun is a 110-240V - 50Hz 10W.

All I did was lick my finger (yum!) to smooth the glue out. Re-strung him up and found that he was still too floopy, proceeded to then bend the limbs at un-natural angles to put another layer in some areas - making it thicker.

Now he is awesome!
I also tried to take photo's while I was doing it for a mock up of a tutorial but it was just too hard. Between handling a hot glue gun then taking a photo then trying to smooth the glue... maybe on my next doll when I can get someone to take photo's while I do it.
Good luck to everyone!

 

! Thank you SO much for this thread
I had previously sueded Amelle with suede..and I noticed it stained a bit
After LOTS of searching for a cool glue gun [in the UK], the cheapest I found was £12 And then £5shipping from eBay..

I went into my local crafts shop yesterday and found one for £8
I need to re-do it, since I've never used a gluegun in my life {!!!}
She poses wonderfully, her arms don't "snap" or fall, shes amazing.

Thanks SOOO much

 

I find that low-temp works just fine. High temp guns DO get VERY hot (we use large size heavy-duty ones where I work), but I don't know what it would take for one to actually melt resin. I don't want to find out, either.

The guns for home use are so inexpensive that you may as well pick up a low-temp one for cheap. *grin*

Her arm is probably still flopping because her stringing needs to be tighter. Check out the engineering section at the top of the forum here for detailed information on stringing. Good luck.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

I havent used a glue gun before but i was hoping to get one - even though i am nervy about sueding my boy if i have problems with his posability.

I just want some advice regarding the glue guns - its said on here to use LOW TEMP, ive been looking online and they seem to vary in power such as 40watts 15watts etc. Would a glue gun of the power ive posted in this link be ok to use for sueding? I dont want to get a gun and find ive bought one that goes too hot for me to use. I also dont want to burn myself. Here is the link for the gun i found >> it says 15watt so i asume that is a low heat one? i think this also might have a switch to low/high heat but if someone could clarify that im looking at the correct thing to buy that would be great, thank you

Stanley Mini Trigger Glue Gun 0-GR15
http://www.stanleytools.co.uk/product/147611

 

My mini glue gun is 10 watts. I would get one with as small a nozzle as possible, because you have to apply glue into small spaces. I would suggest looking at a crafts website (rather than a tools website) for a smaller gun. If you have a local craft store, you could see them in person before you buy (even if you buy from an online source later).

I don't know about the UK, but the glue guns sold in the US usually say right on the package whether they are low temp or high temp. By the way, you can burn yourself even on a low temp gun. Keep a cup of ice water next to you. You can use your finger dipped in ice water to flatten hot glue in your doll's sockets.

Linda S.
galatia9

 

LadyChusei,
I got this gluegun from my local craftshop after months of looking for one. I paid£8 for it,but couldnt find one online for less than 15£.
http://www.craftsuperstore.co.uk/Crafts/Craft-Tools/Misc-Tools/p477.aspx
Its a cool melt gluegun, and takes coolmelt gluesticks.

I gluesueded one of my dolls the other day, and it cooled super quickly, so be quick when using it

 

Several doll companies also sell silicone discs, most notably Volks and its KIPS system. CoolCat and 4D also sell similar kits.

 

I've heard this idea all over the place, but still I haven't gotten the chance to know <i>why</i> one does this. Does it solidify their movement? I would assume. What defines a doll that needs this?

My Hid can barely stand without tons of positioning and had two elbow functions: contracted and extended, nothing in between.

Is this what calls for Sueding? I would really, really like to know personally.

 

Chocobochaos all it does is puts a little friction between the joints. Some people do it to help their dolls pose better, and some people do it because their doll is completely unmanageable e.g- I did this to my Dollmore Larme's torso joint because it was slippery and kept popping out. I couldn't even get him to sit up right. I didn't do the rest of his joints though because they didn't really need it.
It's case of personal taste for most people.
Hope this helps

 

i just glued (just now, lol) my (headless) dollmore kara klums chest joint and my roommates elfdoll lydias knees and the improvement is amazing!! Alex can sit up straight without slouching all over the place, and ella can stand without her legs popping!!

i used what i believe is a low-temp gun and smeared the glue using the nozzle and...my finger...which i burned XDD its not bad tho. the glue does peal out and it seems to be working wonderfully!

 

So I was looking on eBay for glue guns, and I notice that humans use them too. On themselves. For hair extensions! It's a type of glue called "Keratin" glue, which I guess means it's made out of proteins (?) ... has anyone tried this? Any results? The reason I ask is because I would assume it would have a lower temperature ...? ^^; I could be totally wrong about this, I'm treading in territory I have no real knowledge about.

 

I have an iplehouse cocori that simply won't stand up and is extremely floppy. Do I need to simply restring her or will hot glue sueding do the trick? I'm actually nervous about doing both of these things, but I'm more concerned with the sueding . Can it damage her dark skin tone?

 

So the hot glue does the same thing, make the joints less slippery? I've very confused as to how this all works...

 

I've done this on DarkCocori,Light, and NS.
Its totally fine for me
I used cold melt hotglue, and it peels out fine if you mess up.

 

yay I did it! i finally hot glue sueded my boy he no longer has floppy arms or torso and he can stand on the carpet with no shoes on, which was impossible before. OMG, he actually poses for me now, yipeeeeeee

tbh it was much easier than i thought it was going to be and once i got into the swing of using the glue gun it was soooo easy to do.

 

Thank you for your reply and help . Cold melt hot glue, does that need its own type of glue gun? I think I have one of those hot temp ones.

 

I am finding this odd. I had tried hot-glue for my boy, but after a while of moving his joints and all, the glue would come off rather easily.

<.< I am wondering whether it's because the glue I'm using is a low quality one or I'm not doing right.. Lol. Though I know I have to put in the joints, and not the ball areas.

 

Yep, it needs a cool melt glue gun as well
I bought my cool-melt gun and it came with 2 sticks of cool melt glue also.
I just use cool-melt because it's easier on the hands And resin.

 

I just finished glue sueding 3 of my 5 dolls. I get better at with every doll, which is heartening. On smaller dolls, I used the tip of the glue gun to move the glue around. It worked well and I didn't get any more burn blisters. One big one was enough, thanks so much. OUch!

 

I am wondering this same thing, that's what is happening to me.

 

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but if you squeeze the glue onto some clean glass, then let it cool a bit, you can squish it between your fingers, and mold it into whatever shape you need.

 

I tried using a regular hot glue gun and ran my fingers over it and all it did was stick to my finger...
Did i do something wrong or am i just not using the correct glue?

I would like to know more about these "Silicone discs" people keep talking about...

What are they?
Where do you get them?
How do they work? Is it like the glue spots?

Thanks
~R333

 

I hot glue sueded the hip and belly of my bobobie ariel, first time, no unstringing. No belly pop! works like a charm!

 

I jus bought this hot glue gun from a local art and craft store. It doesnt state that its a hot or low temp hot glue gun but there is a sticker on the glue gun and it says 120v - 240v 10w. I jus wanna make sure if this glue gun is safe to use on my DOT boy. I'm really scared it will burn him. Please help me.

 

I think that's too hot, personally. Remember, boiling point for water is only 212 degrees! And since boiling water can be used to soften and re-shape resin... I'd be wary.

My low-temp hot glue gun is so low temp that I can touch the glue with my bare fingers just a couple seconds after it comes out of the gun, and my finger doesn't burn. It's very hot, but it doesn't burn me. Low-temp guns only cost a few dollars, and should be marked low-temp. I'd go for another one for sueding purposes.

 

well, I'm pretty miserable. I went to AC Moore today and I bought a glue gun and the sticks and brought it home, undressed my doll and sueded her very kicky legs and it didn't help at all. She still kicks and still doesn't hold a pose, her legs can only be straight or bent 90degrees.

First I put a very thin layer and when that didn't work I added to it, making it more thick and NOW she CAN'T STAND.

SO, my experience says it doesn't work. But since so many others say it works so well, I'll have to chalk it up as just not working For Me! Waste of cash in my book.

~

 

Well, usually a "kicky" problem means that the doll is strung too tightly. Sueding won't really help much with a stringing problem.