Maintenance Rusty head magnets

I can't help you with removing it, but I have a head that's had rusty magnets for years and it's always stayed just on the magnets and not affected the resin at all. I'll keep an eye on this thread in case there's a solution because even though the resin seems safe, the rust is an eyesore!

 

never had problems with rust on any of my magnets, but if you wanted to remove the magnets to clean them separately most glues break down when cold. I'd test it with the head cap first, but popping it in the freezer for a bit should make it easy to pull the magnet out after some time.

big pointer for when reinstalling the magnet, make sure its resin compatible. some glue times with bond badly/permanently with it but cant remember which type it was off hand.

edit: the freezer might also undo the eyelash glue too (and not sure about gloss reactions cause i dont use it)

 

I use a lemon juice and baking soda paste to clean rust off my older needle minder magnets for cross stitch so none of the rust transfers onto the fabric. I use a child size toothbrush or q-tip to scrub and then rinse with a damp washcloth. So far it has not harmed any of the various materials the magnets were attached to but I don't know about that combination with doll resin so if you try absolutely do a small test area first.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong here, I don't know all the science behind magnets. But the type of magnet most commonly used in BJD are neodymium magnets. Those are basically a powder contained within a shell of another metal, most commonly nickel, I believe. If that exterior shell is broken, the magnet can rust but there is nothing that can be done to save the magnet from slowly falling apart and it's better to just replace it.

"Ordinary" magnets (not sure what they are called in english) can rust, but they are usually not strong enough to be used in dolls.

 

Well, yes. Replacing it is the hard part The only magnets I've ever gotten out of a doll fell out by themselves. So I've got these nasty magnets that have clung to life for over 10 years and don't seem like they're gonna fall out anytime soon. Cleaning off the rust is at a least a potential temporary solution.

 

Normally I would agree, magnets can be tricky to get out. But if they are already damaged and are going to replaced anyway you can just drill them out. Any bits left can then be washed off along with the glue using an appropriate solvent, Once the bulk of the magnet is gone it's easy the get the solvent into the socket.

 

How do you drill out a magnet? Like just a regular drill bit against the magnet?? I would have assumed that would damage the drill bit. Should the drill bit be the same diameter as the magnet or smaller?

 

I wonder if you could clean the rust off, then reseal the magnet with clear fingernail polish? Or a little blob of UV resin? That should prevent more rust, and if it doesn't work, acetone would eat the nail polish and then you're back to square one.

 

I don't knink it would damage the bit. That type of magnet isn't very hard once the coating is breached. You would need to clean off the bit afterwards, since the magnet fragments will cling to it, but otherwise it's not that different from drilling other materials.
I would go with a bit close to the magnet size. Just mark the middle of the magnet with an awl or similar to guide the bit and keep it from wandering and then go slow. You could use a power drill if you have one with good control, or you could use a hand drill or even just holding the bit in your hand. The later is a bit tough on you hands, but it does work. The hardest part will be the first couple of turns to get through the coating.
Be careful about the magnet fragments as they come out. The flakes of coating can be very sharp.

 

I...always just put some washi tape over the magnet.
They still work, and I don't have to look at them, and the rusty crumbles don't fall out anywhere.

 

This is an interesting thread as some of my pukipuki magnets are disintegrating as can't get the remaining magnets out to replace them... and not drilling anything that small. A project for next year

 

Reading all these suggestions makes me itching to replace the magnets used for hands/feet on my Dream Valley with something stronger. Or maybe replacing them at all with normal hooks, but then I would have to search for compatible sets. Ahh... decisions, decisions.