regarding gluey messes in newer vinyl playline doll heads

[WhiteDove01s]

Ok, my Dollyhair order arrived, so I'm doing final preps for reroots. I get everyone else properly de-haired (most already had a buzz, I was just holding on removing the last nubs) and start on Dyna... Now, while most of the others had older salvaged Barbie heads, Dyna's head was originally from a Fashionista Barbie.

So, when I go to scrape out the remaining little nubs of hair with my awl... I also end up scraping at a lot of some kind of heavy, white, waxy glue. Now, I'm pretty sure I'll still get all the hair out, but I don't like the feel of this stuff and don't want it interfering in any way with the new reroot... so...

Is there any trick for getting all this goo out of a head?

PS: Much amused by the greatly improved symmetry of the little rooting holes when compared to older heads. The top of Dyna's bald head resembles some kind of mutated white strawberry...

[yarwel]

I think it depends on how bad the glue is. Some is mostly dry and can just be pried out, but the stickier stuff is going to be harder to deal with. Heating the head under a hot tap helped somewhat when I encountered the latter, but I must admit after a point I just gave up and dealt with rooting through the nasty stuff. It was not fun. D:
On the plus side, it means the head is overall firmer, so I don't have to worry as much about the epoxy mods I added to the face after rooting being damaged by the head flexing.

[Greyhaunt]

That similar nasty substance can be found inside Monster High heads too. I was doing some research for doll hair perming recently and the blog I read (sorry, I didn't bookmark the site or I'd refer to it directly) essentially recommended dipping head in boiling water for a few seconds, then using hemostats to pull the glue out before it cools off. Haven't tried it myself, but sounds like an excellent method to me.

Amazingly, I found the blog post I'm referring to above. It relates to Monster High, but I imagine it works for any fashion doll: http://www.fantasydollcustoms.com/2014/05/monster-high-doll-hair-removal-tutorial.html

[WhiteDove01s]

This is mostly dry, just a wee bit sticky. It's reminiscent of beeswax, really... sticks to the tweezers but not really gooey.

I kind of wish now that I'd saved what I pulled out of the head last night, but I am going to save what I'm pulling out today for chemistry tests to see if I can find anything that dissolves this that won't also harm vinyl. Might as well get some fun out of it.

I'm not sure how much glue is left for testing samples, I'm going to grab a spare test-tube now. And it has bits of hair in, but I think getting an uncontaminated sample is probably impossible. If I can use just a drop of solvent and a flake of the glue that should be enough for a basic test.

Solvents on my list to try so far:

Water (99.9% sure that'll do nothing, but gotta have a control of sorts)

Alcohol (I'll probably just use 70% rubbing alcohol. I have 91% too, but it's pricy for me to get and I'm saving it for removing filler from chalk pastels. If the 70% does nothing at all, there's no point in trying the higher grade)

Acetone (bad for vinyl doll heads, yes, I know... but I still want to see if it can dent this stuff. For Science.)

Citric acid. I actually have no idea what this would do to vinyl as I've never run an exposure test, but I happened to find an old bottle of crystalized citric acid that came with one of my old science kits (It was a latex rubber casting playset, and the citric acid was used with baking soda to make foam rubber if you wanted. Since it's safe for latex, it MIGHT not harm vinyl. Whether it'll dent the glue remains to be seen)

I don't have anything really strong on hand like sulfuric or muratic acid (though I do have sodium hydroxide, come to think of it), but since those three would dissolve a doll head as well (at least the acetone gives you time to rinse it out if you're quick) there seems to be little relevance in testing them at this point.

Anyone have other suggestions they'd like to see me attempt on a flake of glue?

[Greyhaunt]

Seriously - that sounds exactly like what is in the MH doll heads (which are also made by Mattel so the odds are good it IS the same). Don't risk ruining your doll heads with chemicals - just use the boiled water method from that blog and you'll be set!!!

As for cleaning the crap off of your hemostat or tweezers - Goo Gone. Don't use it on your doll heads because it's oil based and will stain them, but it cleans that crap right off of your metal tools. I actually use something similar called Formula 911 which is made by Twin Pines for doll cleaning - but Goo Gone is cheaper and you can buy it anywhere.

[WhiteDove01s]

Seriously - that sounds exactly like what is in the MH doll heads (which are also made by Mattel so the odds are good it IS the same). Don't risk ruining your doll heads with chemicals - just use the boiled water method from that blog and you'll be set!!!

Oh, don't worry, I wasn't going to test it with the glue inside the doll head. I just figured while I was pulling it out anyway I might as well have some fun with it. I've got about half a test tube full of glue mess, and I was going to put a flake/small gob of it at a time on a glass surface and add a drop of solvent just to see what (if anything) happens. Even if it ends up being a chemical that can't be used to help remove it from a doll head (see acetone on the list), I really just want to see if anything eats this stuff.

I and my tweezers thank you for the tool clean up tip, tho. XD

[Nella]

Good luck with the science experiment and don't forget to report back with your findings!

[Anderson'sAllPurpose]

Ah, the dreaded headglue... Here's someone who did a few experiments with removal: http://multicrafteral.blogspot.se/2013/ ... arted.html
She also links to a Russian forum thread where apparently an actual chemist figured out toluene was the best way to remove it, which sounds almost worse than just leaving it in. Honestly I'm not sure how to deal with it. My solution is to try and avoid buying dolls that I suspect have glue head syndrome (guess how that's working out...).

[Greyhaunt]

Being a rather sick puppy myself - I actually kind of enjoy prying the glue infested hair out of doll heads. I just finished balding four monster high dolls today and I now have sore fingers from using my hemostats to pry it out, but damn that was such a satisfying thing to do. There is something cathartic about deconstructing things

[WhiteDove01s]

I made it down the hill today to where an older trailer that collapsed years ago was and salvaged a section of heavy plate glass (from the end windows) to use as a testing surface. Now I just need to find a nicely weathered day that isn't over-windy and when I don't have a ton of other things to do... (tho the less dangerous solvents I can start testing indoors, but I also doubt they'll even make the slightest dent. XD)

Ah, the dreaded headglue... Here's someone who did a few experiments with removal: http://multicrafteral.blogspot.se/2013/ ... arted.html

Ooo... Hmm. Tea Tree oil followed by laundry stain remover. Very interesting combo. I actually have the first because I make tea tree oil soap. I'll check the top laundry room shelves for the latter. (If nothing else, it might be useful to know for poor Phedra. I kind of like her hair (well, the color and all anyway, enough to where she's not flagged "reroot as soon as possible"), but she's a known at-risk-for-problems doll with this issue, and she does have this kind of 'hair gel' feel to some of it.)

I'm still going through with my tests (they're therapeutic, really XD), and will make sure to add that to the list. I'll also re-test any of the stuff that didn't work out for them just to photograph the reactions if any. After all, I'll be dealing with flakes of goo on a big plate-glass slab, where it'll be easier to see if anything happens (and make fun of it.)

She also links to a Russian forum thread where apparently an actual chemist figured out toluene was the best way to remove it, which sounds almost worse than just leaving it in. Honestly I'm not sure how to deal with it. My solution is to try and avoid buying dolls that I suspect have glue head syndrome (guess how that's working out...).

My Russian is only a bit worse than my German. (My German is limited to "Mein deutch ist nicht gut", a handful of swearwords, and the memorized translations to the lyrics of a few Rammstein songs.) But there are translator programs, so I'll definitely need to wade through that too. Even then... wow. I haven't tested the reaction of vinyl to toluene paint thinner, but I can't imagine it's good. (Which means I'll have to test it with a trimming from a chewed barbie leg from the parts bin sometime this summer just to see what happens. XD)

My dolls tend to come on sale or in box lots on ebay, so I doubt this'll be the last time I see it myself. (I have one of the Barbie Muse dolls, I think named Phedra, that is known for the problem - tho so far she's not slated for rerooting.) And while pulling it out with tweezers worked fine as a safe removal from the doll's head... I just want to get revenge on it now that it's out. XD

Being a rather sick puppy myself - I actually kind of enjoy prying the glue infested hair out of doll heads. I just finished balding four monster high dolls today and I now have sore fingers from using my hemostats to pry it out, but damn that was such a satisfying thing to do. There is something cathartic about deconstructing things

It was even more fun getting it all out when I can plot what I'm going to do with it. Added incentive to fish out every little flake and add them to a test tube. I'm not looking for a safer way to remove it from a doll, I'm really just looking for what will damage it. Call it half pure scientific curiosity, and half revenge. I am going to torture those flakes until SOMETHING makes them melt, foam, catch fire, explode, or do something otherwise interesting. (Or I'll find a lot of crazy and extremely caustic things that won't make a dent in it, which will also be interesting if a bit creepy. XD)

I got the Evil Overlord in on it a bit looking for the craziest and most caustic stuff in the house. Borax. Lye. We even have lighter fluid... XD

Yeah, most of this will need to be done outside, I think. XD

PS: Just checked for the laundry stain remover. I found Spray-And-Wash, Resolve Carpet Cleaner, a bottle of professional strength carpet cleaner that came with a steam cleaner I bought 15 years ago... and a bottle of lamp oil meant for little oil lamps we keep on hand in case the electric goes out. I doubt the last will do anything, but... even if it doesn't, I can end that 'test' by setting it on fire.