Anderson'sAllPurpose wrote:Thing is, I had pretty much zero chemistry classes in school, and I really don't feel I'm able to make a informed decision about the various cleaning methods and how they interact with various kinds of plastic. Usually I try to err on the side of caution and use something that may hurt the doll rather than hurt me. This may on occasion be bordering on phobia, but like I said: zero chemistry knowledge.
My gran had emphysema and a host of allergies, so even when I was a kid all my 'experiments' were laced with a large degree of precautions about fumes, chemical toxicity, and so on. I probably learned more chemistry, biology, and first-aid levels of medicine from her than I learned in school. My mind has mercifully blocked out 85% of my memories of public education... There are things I'm unlikely to use on my dolls because I'm more concerned about something in them making me ill. My bedroom has one useable narrow window that opens casement-style, so there's pretty much no ventilation in here. If there's anything with fumes involved, I have to take it outside - or not use it at all. And aerosols are right out for me, as is anything that contains or has a scent like chlorine bleach (The Evil Overlord might have to handle that one for the upcoming 'Will It Melt Hair Glue' experiments). I don't have my gran's issues, but for some reason chlorine is one of the few chemicals that will set me off and make me ill until it completely dissipates.
Almost contradictorily, I do have a more relaxed attitude than most to some chemicals. I make my own soap from scratch, and being in the same room with lye doesn't scare me, though I make sure to take good precautions.
I've used rubbing alcohol (the lower grade, 70% stuff) to remove goofs I've made in just-done faceups where the paint has dried just too much to wipe off. It's kept on hand here for first aid reasons too, so I've never thought about it not being safe. When I found the Backroom Barbie Stash, I tried the non-acetone nailpolish remover (actually bought it specifically for the job), and had it fail to make a dent in the faceups. The most it managed was a little smudging on one. At that time I was still new to it and I was in a pretty over-cautious phase too. So many people were saying acetone is a "NO!" but none of them were saying why. I had horrible thoughts of gooey, melting doll heads. But... I've always been one of those people for whom a simple 'no' just grates a bit. My grandparents early on learned to instead give me a 'no, and here's why'. As long as I understand the reasons I'm fine. I ended up taking a near-ruined Barbie head and trying some acetone nailpolish, expecting a mess. I got it - though in my case because it smudged the paint around really badly rather than because of any vinyl damage. (I actually expected the damped q-tip to melt a hole in the doll head like acid! It was almost disappointing.) Eventually, I hit on my current method, which I'll mention in a bit.
Greyhaunt wrote:not quite right for here since a new person might take it seriously
Yeah, it's probably a bad idea to ever take me too seriously, at least some 85% of the time. I do get called the Mad Scientist for reasons. XD And it's not usually because of a temper...
OkamiKodomo wrote:On the topic of the Title, things that "shouldn't" be done, I find that if someone has the means, whether that be monetarily, or with a readily available supply of materials, then experimentation like what WhiteDove is doing, is actually really quite smart. That is how new methods are discovered.
Thanks.
One thing I have is that when I first got into dolls (in fact, what actually really got me into dolls) is the bunch of Barbies I found in the back room. We were cleaning up in there after a ceiling leak. While I've salvaged some heads, some hair, etc... most of the dolls are really ruined. Many of them had chewed legs, some broken fingers, matted hair, broken neck pegs... My best guess is that they belonged to the last people my grandfather tried renting this place to. I tried to fix up the ones that could be, just to see if I could. (One of the very few that was still in good condition (after a good cleaning and detangling) I rehomed, sending to Eseme back when she was looking for dolls for a coworker's child whose house had burned down.)
As for the rest, using them to experiment on just seemed a lot better use that tossing them. I hate to throw away anything if I can find any use for it. There's a ranking to my dolls... the ones I get emotionally attached to that have names and are on my shelves, the ones I have just to sew for that are on shelves but don't have names or characters of their own yet... and the ruined Parts Bin/Backroom Dolls that are experiment fodder. (well, and I also have a few extra bodies on hand just in case.)
Sometime this summer I plan to take a backroom head (there's a bald one with a scalp split that will probably be used, I managed to salvage the hair from it for possible later use) and soak it in acetone, taking measurements to document the swelling and later shrinkage caused. I also plan to take a section of leg and cover half of it heavily with acne cream and place it in sunlight, documenting the bleaching in one-day increments (maybe with a sticker on part of the uncoated area so I can also differentiate from any sun-bleaching that may occur). In both cases, just to see how bad I can get it.
I've just always been the sort who, when I hear a 'no', my first question is 'why'. There are a lot of 'whys' I'm willing to accept. (example: Don't mix bleach and ammonia, it will create a toxic gas that smells like rotten eggs and can kill you.) Others... Others I want better specifics on. XD
OkamiKodomo wrote:For one thing, you should be doing it next to a sink with the tap turned on in the event that bad things happen. Also make sure that you don't have any open wounds on your hands, as 91% isopropyl alcohol stings like nobody's business.
That's one reason I try to stick to water soluble stuff in experiments. If there's one detail about chemistry worth remembering, it's why labs tend to have an open shower area in them. I know I come off sometimes as if i don't care what happens, but I go into every new experiment half-expecting something to start to melt, bubble, or do something else it shouldn't. My room is right next to the bathroom. Anything with 'short term exposure only' chemicals is done right next to the bathroom sink unless it has to be done outside for fume reasons - in which case, bowl of water nearby to dunk it in while I run to the bathroom. XD
OkamiKodomo wrote:I think any time one reads a review or tutorial on a certain method or product, there should always be a caveat to the effect of "your results may vary", especially when dealing with chemistry.
*nods* I think a lot of people expect that since chemistry is a science, everything is always going to be 100% the same every time. And that would be true, if you were dealing with exactly identical substances of known purity every time. But because every batch of vinyl, or resin, or any other plastic is likely to be different (different factories, changes in formula, different plasticisers, different dyes), then you're constantly dealing with a big unknown variable in the very substance you're trying to test. It means that no result or method will ever be 100% perfect.
OkamiKodomo wrote: Most people swear by Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner to clean off face-ups on resin, but freak out when you suggest using it on vinyl doll heads, and instead recommend nail polish remover of the non-acetone variety to clean off old factory paint. Meanwhile, in my personal experience, W&N works fabulously on soft vinyl, and not as well as everyone says on resin. I've removed almost a dozen monster high face-ups with it. But the nail polish remover only smeared the partially-dissolved factory paint onto the face, and I had a devil of a time trying to clean it.
Oooo... I am going to have to try that. I have a method I love to use for removing just parts of a faceup, but occasionally I can miss tiny spots or it leaves a little smudge behind. And I planned on picking some of that up anyway. I don't have much in the way of pricy tools, but I do have a couple $5 brushes that I try to take the best care of I can (they're meant for Wargamer miniatures - the Insane Detail Brush and the Psycho XD)
I had the same problems with nail polish remover early on when I tried it, though in my case the non-acetone kind barely made a dent and the acetone kind made a smudgy mess.
My current method for removing faceups is one I don't think ANYONE else uses. Often, I like to just remove parts of a faceup so I can use the rest as a guide for redoing the face. And I also 'de-grin' Barbie heads a lot, and since the superglue will smear paint really badly and make it a hard-to-remove mess, it's best to pre-remove any paint on the lips and mouth...
I use a dremel. Well, actually, I use an off-brand rotary tool. I'm fairly sure attacking a doll's faceup with a power tool falls into the "Is it time for your meds?" category of things that shouldn't be done (my answer there is: Yes! I self-medicate with chocolate, which is a mild natural mood balancer and antidepressant, and as far as I am concerned it is almost always time for my meds! XD)
There's a particular tip that ends in a point. I've found I can use it and a gentle touch to basically sand off the factory facepaint. The vinyl stretches and gives enough to where I'd have to press down more to affect it. (Which I have - I've also used the same tool with different tips to put wrinkles on a Barbie head to make her old, and reshape a jawline on another to make them like a very bishie male). Basically, the paint just gives out first. When I altered Meritamen's faceup, this is how I removed the eyeshadow and big eyelashes on the lower part of her eyes while leaving the rest in place as a guide to paint over. One downside is that it's essentially powdering the paint in the process, and it can kind of rub that powder into the vinyl at the same time... so sometimes it leaves behind a few light smudges. Usually these come off with water, soap, and a toothbrush much like if they were a badly done unsealed blushing job done with chalk pastels... but I figure someday I'll have a stubborn case, or a softer or harder vinyl that insist on scratching up instead of giving up its paint. For now, tho, that's the method that works best for me.
