Maintenance Submerging Dolls in Water for Cleaning or Bath Photos

Most face-ups are coated, so I don't think water will be a problem.

As for the mask, that's be cool if you made one! I say go for it.

 

since it's sealed, it's fine with water... but if you dunk it in water without removing the eyes, the putty might get ugly. As long as you don't rub color pigments into the skin, it's fine. I found this out the hard way... I was rubbing the color with my finger and couldn't get it out... unless if I remove the coating underneath, but that's a pain.

I don't know how hot water will react to the coating, but I guess you can test out an area first.

I wasn't aware that DIM sell sleeping heads...

 

there was a thought that crossed my mind that i think would be cool but i'm afraid to even try.

i think it'd be a neat idea to take a picture of a doll under water w/ a waterproof camera.

has anyone attempted actually dunking a whole doll in water?

 

I dunked a whole doll in water once, and the only problem I had was the eyelashes started coming off ^^; I had to unstring him after though and dry his elastic. Other than that the only problem that might arise is that the wig could lose its styling. The putty seemed to stay okay though, and especially dolls with their eyes hot glued in, they should be perfectly fine ^^

And I occasionally get my dolls faces wet, when cleaning them or for pictures, and the only problem I've had is that the glossed parts might become matte again, but that's an easy fix

~Dottie

 

dunking the doll in water is not good for the elastic. I don't think I would take the doll into the water that I'll be using because there might be resin powder left on him and it's not good if it get into the eye of if you swallow it. Some doll joints scrape against each other and dust would come off.

 

My doll decided of his own acored to take a swim in a fountian once -__-
His face up was perfectly fine, but his wig looked like a dead dog till it dired.
Also as soon as I got home I put the elastic in the drier on delicate mode and low heat for like.. 15 min and made sure I dried out his insides.
Really nothing should go wrong if you are willing to take care of them after to avoid molding such as what I mentioned above.

 

o that's right! I see it eveytime i go to the sight. Thought for some reason I like the original head better. I have a Persia too. I haven't done anything to his face. I think I wiped with with water before, and nothing happened.

May i ask what you are planning on doing? It might help you find the answer more quickly and accurately.

Please DO NOT do this. it will harm the elastic and make it more fragile and it will break faster. It changes it's elasticity, making it more loose. Always let it air dry. Better yet, get new ones if you are really concerned. It should be fine if you wet it only once or twice.

Birds of Hermes, I hope you don't do this often. >.<;;;

 

There's also a sleeping Jeremy head, but I have two DIM dolls and in general, their faceups hang up fairly well. But I have to say, a little water like a couple sprinkles of rain isn't a huge deal, but if elastic gets wet the rubber can corrode and rot. Drying it out won't really help prevent that, it'll just warp the rubber.

 

all this has been helpful for me at least. so the faceup should be fine?

i dont have any immediate plans *cuz i dont have an h2o proof camera* but its good to know.

not trying to be smart but if water ruins elastic, how do our clothes w/ elastic bands in them withstand washing and drying? is it maybe a different kind of elastic? just curious

thanks guys

 

As far as I can tell the only reason for unstringing the doll and letting the elastic dry is to prevent molding or mildew. I don't see why water alone would hurt the elastic at all. ^^ It does sound like a neat photo idea~

~Dottie

 

I think it depends on the quality of the elastic. There was one time when I left my clothes to a laudry service and when I got my cloth back, they were all stretch out, not just the ones with elastic. It was pretty apparent that they dried the clothes on high. Heat destroys a lot of stuff, and rubber is one of them. From then on, I use the lowest setting possible for drying clothes. I think the color also comes out if you dry it on high.

 

Have any of you guys heard of "MC multi-purpose cleaning cream"? I was wondering if it could be another alternative for cleaning the dirt off resin. It says here in the description >>>

Effectively removes dirt and grease from:
car body - upholstery - leatherite and plastic materials for ladies shoes and bags - office equipment such as computers - steel cabinets and all modern delicate electronic devices.
For home appliances:
refrigirator - tv sets - all kinds of stoves - electric fans - metals - nickel brass - shellac surfaces and also for furniture - glass and hands

so what do you guys think.? it removes dirt from lotsa stuff and I was wondering if it could work on resin too

 

Make sure it doesn't have acetone in it ^^

Aaannd... maybe test some on the inside of a headcap?

 

I would never even try to use India ink on a BJD. That sounds like a story that can't end well. O___o If you can find out what it is made of then you can compare it to other paints and inks that are known to work well with BJDs.

For anyone who is a new doll owner, please please PLEASE seal your dolls. Even if you've received it with faceup and it appears to be coated, even if you do not want to have to restring it. I read too many sad stories about faceups rubbing off, marks and stains.

 

yeh...india ink is probably a no no...it runs like watercolors and tends to stain things too so I imagine it can't be great for resin.

 

i know sharpie ink will eat away at dolls, but i dunno about india. i wouldn't try it *cringe* i'd think that pretty much any 'ink' would be bad. cleaning-wise, use dish soap (NOT human soap) because it doesn't have oils in it that can harm your doll. and depending on the doll, rubbing alcohol has been known to "melt" the faces of some soft-resined dolls. personally, i do use it to clean off faceups, but i'd be careful with it

 

I've heard of people bathing their dolls...But with what? Any help would be nice! ^^

 

Ack, I need one of those (I went to the store yesterday but they didn't have one...D: )
I mean like physically in the bath. Because I've heard of people doing it (as wrong as it sounds) and Chrno needs one BAD. xD

 

every time i submerged my dolls in water, their elastics loosened/stretched and i had to re-string them, even when only up to their hips in a wading pool. if you wanted to do a bath photo shoot, i would recommend maybe just working up alot of bubbles and covering them only in bubbles. of course unless you like re-stringing ^.~

 

I remember reading somewhere that water wouldn't hurt the doll itself, but total submersion might ruin the strings somewhat...

But has anyone ever TRIED that?? I'm curious, since I actually thought of plunking Kiril in the tub with me tonight

Or maybe I'm the only one having weird thoughts like that

 

hmmm thought about it but decided against it.
1st, she would drown
2nd, her faceup would die because i drop things in the tub (like my cell phone which amazingly still works after dropping it in the tub 7 times over the past year)
3rd, I hear water+elastic=BAD

 

I wouldn't suggest it..? The S hooks may rust, and the stringing will get that ugly rusty color around where the hooks are on the hands and feet if the hooks themselves don't rust. I wouldn't suggest it - but it doesn't really hurt the stringing. Not anything too noticeable, anyway, and I've had my dolls strings pretty soaked before. Nothing too worrisome.

And the only time I had him in the tub with me was when I was taking some pictures with the shower on to make it look like it was raining - even then, I was in a bathing suit. XD I'm crazy. I feel awkward if I'm naked around him.

 

I've seen photostories with dolls in tubs...but I'd be wary of it. I wouldn't risk the damage to his faceup, and I imagine if a doll has body blushing that could be messed up as well. Maybe just perching him on the edge of the tub would be best?

 

Unless you don't mind restringing it after the bath, I wouldn't suggest it.

 

If its for a photostory use a tripod (a good sturdy one) take a pic of the doll in the empty tub,then take the doll out, fill up the tub and take another pic, then photoshop the two together!

 

I normally just unstring the whole doll, put away the head (to protect face up), elastic, metal hooks etc into a cool clean storage box. Put the rest of the body in lukewarm soapy water and scrub with a soft sponge.

I guess each to their own way of cleaning their dolls

 

When I am feeling crappy, I have taken a few of my dolls into the bathroom before, and put them on the side of the tub, and let their feet hang in when I am in the tub. Its very relaxing, if you don't mind them looking at you! Hah!

I have never completely submerged a doll, well, one that was strung anyways.

I would suggest, lighting some candles, getting in the tub, and putting your friend on the side of the tub!

Don't worry, I don't think you being weird, or having weird thoughts. But coming from me, that might not mean anything, Heh!

Happy bath time!
Elizabeth

 

Yea, well I gave him a bath not with me in it XD That would be too weird for me. His wig got a little puufy after wards when I dried him up. =P Though, it is fun to put them in bath tubs and take photos!!

 

What a cute story!
I always thought that water + abjd = big nono!
But it's good to hear that you can get rid of the yellowing by water!

 

I guess is just with yellowing is not really yellowing, but accumulated dirt (from handling). The yellowing of resin is a chemical process triggered by light, and is not washable (but you can sand the surface)

 

Haha, I put Tyr in a bath for a photostory...and he was actually submerged at one point too.^^; He's probably the only one out of all my boys that I'd do it to though, just because he's so used to enduring the various tortures I thrust upon him (ah the consequences of being my first doll!xD). Besides, there was no worry of ruining his faceup because I wasn't happy with it, and I was planning on redoing it anyway. I did make sure to dry him well after that though, I do care about him to some extent (haha, only kidding Tyr!^^; I love you to death!). Now that I am finally satisfied with his faceup, I really can't see myself ever plunging him in the water again, though sitting him on the edge and dipping his feet in would still be ok.^^

 

My Festy Wishel takes baths all the time with my son. He's a great swimmer, too!! I dont worry about his elastics too much... if they get rotten I can always restring him. The important thing is to PLAY! :-D

Raven

 

For the record: I love heels, especially really stacked ones... but they aren't practical for walking a mile in ice and snow every day and then running around my overcrowded school... HOWEVER, left to my own devices, I love heels. They're so much cuter... XD ('Cept I own some major cute Chucks, too... *cough* ANYWAY.)

Aww! Bathing! Cute! I think Edan would be too shy (not me, him, of course >_>) and. He's going to have apoxy on him (would that like, corrode or anything if I got it wet? o_O) and stuff, too. But I'll probably put him in sometime. :3 And make sure to DRY THE ELASTIC ZOMG.

 

Idoru: You mean Apoxie sculpt? no, it shouldn't erode or anything, it's a resin like the rest of the doll.

 

Is it really?! Oh excellent! I was so worried because he's a mod that like, if it rained while I was with him or something his "extras" would fall off or something. o_o Whoo! Thanks for the iiiinfo

 

I dont see anything wrong with it unless you dont want to have to dry out the strings/elastic and dry the s hooks throughly. If your face up is sealed I dont see why just warm water should hurt it but then again I would not submerged by dolls face unless I didnt mind getting a new face up.

Live and learn in bjd world I guess !

 

Oh, no. I agree with Akkhima. It definitely won't. I can assure this. I spilled some in my sink... last summer. I let it harden and... it's still there. After doing dishes... every single night.

This is a cute idea. I might try it... just because I don't really like my girl's new face up... so if it gets damaged... I don't care XD I'll just re-do it again. (But I still don't think I have the guts to submerge her...).

 

Um hate to reive an old thread. Anyway I noticed that my boy's new shirt was staining his skin slightly so I've decided to clean him. Problem is he has body blushing that I don't want to damage while cleaning him. What should I use that will take off the black stains,but not the blushing?

 

ok..
i was just wondering
if you put your doll in water does it mold or anything..
or will the water get traped in any part of the dolls body?
would it be bad to give a doll a bath? lol
i was just wondering...

 

to the best of my knowledge, water doesn't harm the resin. But it will weaken/mess up the elastic holding them together if you don't dry them properly. It would also mess up the wigs if they aren't dried properly as well.

when I clean my guys - I do both full washes and spot washing. The full washes are when I take them completely apart and scrub down their parts in soapy water [usually when I need to re-coat them] and allow them to dry before putting them back together. The spot washing I do on a more regular basis with a Mr. Clean magic eraser [this doesn't require having to take them apart]

So it's not bad to fully immerse them, as long as you dry them thoroughly so their elastics don't get all messed up inside ^^

 

The search function is a helpful thing. Try it!

 

what would a blowdryer on cold shock do?
its like a powerful fan
would that dry the strings and any crevises without any problems?

i think thayre should be some hero who tests all of these examples on thayre doll...hahah ^_^

 

Resin is a hard plastic so washing them really shouldn't effect it, the only thing you should worry about putting your dolls in water it's if there are any metal hooks because they could rust depending on the type of metal, also if you put them in a pool where there is chlorine your elastics will probably take some damage.
go me for learning at school and props class!

 

Yeah... This happens because of something called "capillary action." So, I really wouldn't recommend putting your doll in water even up to it's hips. Below the knees water for a very short time (one or two photos) should be fine. Although the wet elastics even just there might be a pain...

 

I was wondering how harmful water is to dolls. I've seen many photos with wet dolls or dolls in water, but is there any risk in doing that?
And also, do you bathe your doll?

Thankies!!!

 

As far as I know, the only thing that would be damaged by water is the elastic cord. Everything else should be fine.

 

Make sure you unstring afterwards and dry the string and doll parts completely, and then you should be fine. Some people say that water might make the string looser, but that can be fixed with some tightening or a new set of strings if you're really paranoid about it.

 

hey anyone knows how to clean the doll body?
my 2 week old doll starting to have dark stain on the body... is it possible to be remove?

 

And I hope your doll isn't tan because many tan dolls are just stained tan on the outside (not tan all the way through like Narae). The tan might come off if you use abrasives or removers.

if your doll is tan, ask someone who has the same doll or a tan doll from the same company.

Carolyn

 

I didn't really know where to ask this question, but since I'm saving up for a DS Saint I was wondering is it ok to get a BJD wet, and also is it ok to get wigs wet as well?

I've seen a few pics of wet BJDs, but I want to be sure if its harmful or not.

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't suggest it with "S" hooks as they can rust but i think with Dollshe they don't have "S" hooks(?) I also wouldnt suggest submerging the head in water as those usually have "S" hooks in them and i would worry about the face-up, eye putty, and such. The wigs are fine to get wet.

TC

 

Also, if you do get them wet, make sure to take the elastic out immediately afterwards and dry it throughly. It will become weak and can even grow mold if it doesn't dry properly.

 

A few months after I got her, I was posing Frankie in a fountain... and she fell in. *L* If you un-string them completely, towel dry the pieces,let the elastic dry, along with the S Hook, wig, clothes and anything else they'll be just fine. :3 Franks is!

Worst case scenario, you have to replace some eyelashes.

 

Its a bad idea to get mohair wigs wet because they have the potential to felt as they dry. Synthetic wigs should be fine if you let them air dry... no blow dryer

 

I'll be careful with mohair wigs, infact I may just use bjd hair wax to give it the appearance of being wet.

Thanks!

 

Is it possible to just wrap the part of the doll that will be underwater in plastic and then not take the body apart? I'm not talking like a little sheet of plastic wrap, I mean like two or three (or more!) plastic grocery bags wrapped around the submerged part and taped in place. Will that be adequate protection as long as the doll is absolutely sealed and there are no holes in the bag?

 

Koratira: I think that'd work really well, actually, though I'd be careful about what kind of tape, so it doesn't leave residue on your doll.

 

That's what they do when you have a cast on your foot or hand you're not supposed to get wet when you shower--wrapped in plastic and taped shut.

 

I know how to clean the face and how to remove a face-up, but I still have a question.
My doll (Soulkid Yewon) came to my house all fresh and new, without a faceup, so I didn't have trouble with her head.

but on her chest and neck, there seems to be some sort of product that makes it shiny. I'm not sure, but I think it could be because they put some product in the mold so that resin won't stick to it. at least that's the only thing I could think of.

I tried removing it with water and soap, with non-acetone remover and with mr. Clean magic eraser and it just won't go. I received my MSC so I want to coat her body and blush her, but I don't want to seal that shinyness.

So: what are your suggestion for cleaning that strange thing, is it possible I'm just not trying strong enough? and if I were to spray msc Flat on it, would it err. flatten the shiny part?

 

My Unoa came very shiny, too. What I did was wash her well and then wet-sanded her with a very fine grit sandpaper. It gave the resin a bit of "tooth" for the coating to stick too.