Dollieh Sanctuary

I've never dealt with porcelain before, but I decided to try customizing one of my old dolls I got when I was little. Her box states that she's porcelain. So far her outfit is gone, her wig is removed, but I'm stumped on the eyes. They're glued in really well. The glue is so dark it looks like chocolate syrup. She's a sweet girl. <3 But I really want to change them as I don't really care for her current eyes. And how should I remove her painted makeup? Would paint thinner work or would it be harmful to the porcelain?

Often porcelain dolls are actually fired with their makeup, so removing it isn't really possible. You could try painting over it. As for her eyes, try softening the glue with heat.

I've done a LOT of porcelain disassembly.

The eyes are going to be glued in there really hard, but as she is porcelain, don't be afraid to get her really hot to soften the glue. You could use a heat gun or even boil her head without hurting it.

Most porcelain dolls do not have a paint job that can be removed, but some of the cheaper ones do. You can go ahead and use pure acetone or paint thinner on the head and see. It's porcelain, there is next to nothing you can do to it that will stain or ruin it. If the paint doesn't come off with pure acetone or paint thinner, it's been fired on, and there isn't anything you can do to change it.

Thank you both! She does seem like a cheaper doll, but I'm not sure how cheap. I'll try using paint thinner and if it doesn't work I'll just do her makeup over it. Thanks for the advice! I have no idea about porcelain, so I wasn't sure if it could have a reaction to things or not.