Fixing Torn Scalp Plugs For Reroots- The Hot Glue Gun Method

[MeltedCaramel]

Hey guys! I'm sure this is probably well known everywhere, but, I've never seen a tutorial for it before so I thought I would make it for everyone here at Dollieh Sanctuary in the hopes that it helps at least one person!

Okay, so when we reroot we all know those occasional ripped plugs that just make us go "UGHHH!!", right? Never fear, your hot glue gun is to the rescue!

Materials you need:

1.) Your victim (aka your head with the missing/torn plug holes)
2.) A hot glue gun with NO glue in it (this is important, make sure everything is squeezed out), a smaller glue gun with a sharper tip works better for control
3.) (Optional) A scrap head

First, heat your glue gun up. Now, for this particular tutorial I did this quickly and with a spare head that came with some bodies I bought from Maywong on here. I noticed one head in particular needed some TLC in the plug department so I decided to try out this method.

Here he is:

Damn, that's a nasty wound right there, right?

Well, for tears this severe, this is where the optional scrap head comes in. Let him donate a sliver of skin, like so:


Position it the best you can on top of the torn area:


Now, with your glue gun (making sure the tip is CLEAN and extremely hot), press down until a corner of the flap of skin adheres to the doll's scalp. (Don't worry about being neat, remember this is all going to be rerooted over.) Once the flap is connected to the head, start gently rolling the side of the tip of the glue gun (the flat, cylindrical part of it) over the area. The flap and scalp itself should start to melt. Make sure not to press very hard, otherwise you will melt a sizeable dent at the very least and may even melt a hole straight through! The trick is even, steady pressure. (My victim was particularly uncooperative since he had paint on his scalp which also melted and made a goopy mess! )

At the end of it all you should have something like this:


Now, I know that's not going to win any beauty contests, but it is sturdy enough for you to CAREFULLY add a plug or two where otherwise you would have had no way to really cover said bald spot. With more time and patience this can be done smoothly, poor guy here was just being used for tutorial purposes! This technique can also be used for tiny plugs like the Monster High gals if you want to create a "bald" look. It does leave the area looking somewhat "shiny" at the end, so you're going to want to hit it with a matte spray if you're leaving it unrooted where you've tried this.

Well, I hope this helps someone out there!!!

[zirconmermaid]

Thank you, this is extremely helpful!

[Faydreams]

Totally cool. I have one or two I will try this on.

[MeltedCaramel]

Thanks Faydreams! It really is quite a help. Now, of course there are some rips that are beyond repair, but for those 1-2-3 hole rips that happen to all of us when derooting (or rooting too thickly and then attempting to deroot those), this really helps. It helps to pat the area with your finger or a smooth object a bit while it's still melty and sticky, just to spread it all out a bit. Let it sit awhile as well, because the vinyl with firm back up over a few hours.

[maywong]

You can also use Sugru to fix rips no matter what the size is. This stuff will always stay flexible, can with stand extreme heat and cold. Very easy to work with, no mess, no mixing, no smell, will stick to anything. You can sand or cut it with a knife. Will not stick to your hands, air dries. This stuff is great. I use it to fix any problems I have with heads.

BTW MC have you tried actone to fix that mess left by the paint on the head? I usually remove any paint on the head before I do any repairs.

[MeltedCaramel]

Maywong- I did this as a five minute tutorial to try and help others, I honestly didn't even think about removing the paint with acetone at that moment. XD;;

Sugru is basically just air dry silicone rubber. It could definitely work and would probably be great for those really HUGE issues, but this is a literal 3 minute fix. Once the PVC itself (which doesn't seem to be sold in liquid form, in my quest for a hollow head the absolute closest thing I can find is some of Smooth-On's products which I may try and do some rotational molding with.) hardens back to its normal consistency, you can just root normally.