Removing melted rubber bands - vinyl doll

[ocean-daughter]

I have rebodied several Barbie-type dolls to Liv bodies. The heads end up kind of wobbly, so I wrapped rubber bands several times around the inner neck piece to stabilize them. It helps, though they lose a bit of poseability.

Recently I discovered to my dismay that a couple of the rubber bands had badly melted in there. Two dolls are affected by this; both have Mattel heads. One was on a Liv body and one on a Volks body (my only Volks body!). How can I get the rubber band residue off without damaging the dolls?

And, is there a better way to stabilize doll heads on a Liv body? I have removed the cheapie latex rubber bands from all the other dolls and replaced them with "polybands" that are marketed for kids' hair. But is there a better way?

Thanks for any help!

[catshem]

I feel like I should be able to answer this because I have had issues in the past with rubber bands in Barbie hair for too long, but the only thing that comes to mind for what I did to get it out was a lot of washing and using a doll hair brush to get it out. Try a dish soap on the hair that cuts through 'grease', like Dawn and just brush, brush, BRUSH.

[ocean-daughter]

Well, I was thinking of trying a good wash with Dawn or something. The rubber band isn't in the hair--it's on the inside of the head, and on the neck post. I had also thought of putting the doll in the refrigerator to try and make the rubber hard so it might just peel off.

I've heard of using WD-40 to remove melted rubber, but I was afraid it might be bad for the vinyl. These dolls aren't '60's-era delicate dolls, but they aren't so easily replaceable either--so I'm going to start out cautious.

Thanks!

When I get the goo off of them, I will post pics. They are two of my favorite girls. I'm never putting latex rubber bands near my dolls again!

[catshem]

Oh, whoops, my bad I misread. The refrigerator trick might work- WD-40 I'm not sure on and I imagine others here may or may not have said something about Wd-40 in our Tips and Tricks section.

[ocean-daughter]

Well, here is what I did.

I found some Palmolive dish liquid in the cupboard, and decided to try that. I went after the dolls' heads (the neck openings) with Palmolive and and old toothbrush, as well as the neck of the Liv body. The rubber band I'd used on that body had kind of hardened and gotten sticky, and came off pretty easily from both body and head.

However, the blue rubber band I used on the Volks body had turned into sort of a slimy goop. It has flowed down into the body (and I can see blue in one of the shoulder seams), and I need to find my tiny screwdriver to take the upper torso apart so I can clean it properly. Augh!

There was blue goo on the inside of the neck hole of that head too. I scrubbed with Palmolive, and squeezed the head so I could scrape at it with my fingernails, and finally took Q-tips and basically polished the inside of the neck opening. I think I got it all but maybe a couple of molecules.

I put that head onto a Liv body, and both dolls look quite happy now. I will post pictures of them soon. I still want to get that nice Volks body clean. I bought it when they were discontinuing the 1/6 scale bodies, and I love it...

...but at least these two girls are happy and mobile again!

[embyquinn]

In order to avoid the melted latex problem, might I suggest what many customizers call the "grape trick"?

First, you go to a craft store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby or Jo-Ann's which has a floral/artificial plant section. Then buy a bunch of the palest plastic grapes you can find. Select a grape of the appropriate size to keep the head on and slip the hole that connects the grape to the stem over the neck knob of the doll (if you do it right, it'll slip right on). Then ease the doll's head over the flexible grape, and voila!

Did this with Cherry for years before I found out that my empty Ventolin vials worked even better, but not everybody has a nebulizer to combat their asthma...