regarding gluey messes in newer vinyl playline doll heads

[DollyKim]

Lye will strip house paint off, similar stuff is in Draino, definitely use gloves, it could bleach fabric.

Borax isn't as caustic, I've been using it with doll laundry and it hasn't affected any of the glue in that.

[WhiteDove01s]

I use the lye to make soap (and am aware of its dangers, though so far I've only had one mild lye burn over the years I've used it.) I have rubber gloves and other items on hand specifically for its handling.

And we use the borax for our own laundry. I don't expect the latter to make much of a dent, but it's a chemical solvent/cleanser and it's there, so it seems a shame not to give it a try. XD I'm even going to run through 'mild, harmless' stuff like baking soda... and I was thinking of testing what happens when a flake is suspended in a small gob of the aloe gel I keep on hand in case of burns (and more often use to give myself a weekend scalp massage treat). It's good for reasons of comparison, fairness... and because, who knows, something might completely surprise me.

As for the lye, the test will require special caution as I'll have to suspend the glue sample in a little water first... Or I suppose I could just sprinkle lye crystals on it and wait for them to draw condensation out of the air... I've seen them do this and dissolve, it's why I always measure lye outdoors - don't need holes in the counter! The only lye burn I've had came about because of that - I measured in the bathroom, spilled a few grains, and after the soap was cooking it was "Why are these little drops of water on the counter. Weird... they feel too oily/greasy and warm to be normal water". And that's when it clicked in what they were and I rinsed my fingers in the sink. It never caused any pain (burns from caustics are different in that aspect than burns from heat), but left a little whitish patch for a few days that wasn't really worse than what I might have gotten from a hot clothing iron. Still, it could have been worse and it was a darn good lesson about lye.

I really have high hopes for the lye doing something particularly nasty to this stuff. XD

Currently thinking of taking photos at start, and then every fifteen minutes over the duration of an hour exposure. That should be enough time to see if there's going to be any interesting reactions.

[yarwel]

If the stuff really does have to be dissolved in toluene, I suspect it may be rather inert under normal conditions. Toluene is a non-polar solvent, and consequently tends to dissolve non-polar compounds well, and, if I'm remembering my little bit of organic chemistry correctly, polar compounds tend to be less reactive(because they don't have polar groups which are great sites for proton/electron attack). I could be totally off-base though; it should be interesting to see what [b/]actually[b] happens. Keep us posted?
Also, you've gotten me thinking about more possible uses for the acne cream, such as purposely discoloring just certain parts of a doll. Reverse tattoos? Hmmm, possibilities...

[WhiteDove01s]

If the stuff really does have to be dissolved in toluene, I suspect it may be rather inert under normal conditions. Toluene is a non-polar solvent, and consequently tends to dissolve non-polar compounds well, and, if I'm remembering my little bit of organic chemistry correctly, polar compounds tend to be less reactive(because they don't have polar groups which are great sites for proton/electron attack). I could be totally off-base though; it should be interesting to see what [b/]actually[b] happens. Keep us posted?

I will! I have the plate glass cleaned up, and am hunting around for a suitable scrap of something matte black to lay it on (so the light colored glue flake will show up as good as possible in photos). I have the glue flakes in a test tube, tweezers, the timer, rubber gloves, safety goggles, droppers... and of course it's supposed to be drizzly and rainy the next few days. XD And I'm pretty sure Aunt Flo's little dog Spot is going to jump me either tonight or tomorrow, followed by his mistress... But I still hope to be able to start with the less caustic stuff that won't give off fumes soon, since I can do those in my room even if I'm feeling icky and slouching around in just my unders and labcoat.

What worries me a bit is where someone apparently managed to break it up with tea tree oil (oil, normally bad for vinyl. tea tree also has a lot of antibiotic and astringent properties) enough to get it out with laundry stain remover (a surfactant). Usually if something is affected by oil, and water resistant, it is also oil or petroleum based itself. (Which actually still fits with the vinyl being affected by oil, since plastics are petroleum based. And with the glue being affected by warming, like a wax.) And here it is inside vinyl doll heads. O.o It makes me wonder if the glue is really safe long-term for the vinyl. It's not like there'd be a reason for the company to care for cheap playline dolls that they'd expect to be in a landfill in 5-10 years. Planned Obsolescence and all that. 'Course, that's just a little nagging worry... I have nowhere near the equipment or the lab it'd take to actually figure out what's in the Goo.

Also, you've gotten me thinking about more possible uses for the acne cream, such as purposely discoloring just certain parts of a doll. Reverse tattoos? Hmmm, possibilities...

I was actually thinking a bit ago, while plotting other experiments, about whether it could be applied in a thin line with the head of a pin to make a scar. Scars tend to come in either the kind where the skin's lighter later, or the nasty dark keltoid variety like I made on Summer's leg... The former /could/ be done with paint, but paint matching is so tricky... and bleaching the vinyl just a hair might actually look better. It's on the 'to try' list for the summer.

Plus, yes, I am going to test it on the goo. XD

[DollyKim]

I've got a five stitch scar on my face that's the same color but it left a dip in the skin. It just looks like a normal line now thankfully. One on my arm that used to be a mole is my lightest skin tone with only a slight texture, if I keep the sun off that area it's hardly noticeable.

[WhiteDove01s]

The one I have on my jaw is both slightly dipped in and a little lighter. It's almost the same color as pics I've seen of light skinned resin dolls with some yellowing. The one I had on my arm a good 25 years or so ago from my first attempt at using a soldering iron was even paler, but a more pinkish pale... It faded away after about seven years. I've done a lot of online reading on scars for various reasons (including doing Summer's), and there is a lot of variation in them. XD

[maywong]

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

LOL!

Here is what I did to get rid of the glue inside of Barbie's head. I soak the head in hot not boiling water. Take your hemostat and start pulling out the hair and glue.

If you don't want to reroot your doll head. Just pick out as much glue as you can without pulling out the hair. I then used a Goo Gone on all the hair with a cottonball. I washed the doll hair with Dawn and again with shampoo.

[WhiteDove01s]

I finally have this one on a schedule to work on and update (online kanban board has turned out to be a very good thing for me for organization.) Anyhow, witch hazel did nothing at all to a flake... probably going to work my way up the alphabetical list, so the next two might be boring as well.

Full update/pics of witch hazel test here:
http://playscaletheater.dreamwidth.org/1912.html

I also have a Top Secret Project that I should be able to reveal soon, so I may have to increase how often I blog just to try to get past the more boring parts of this experiment and on to SOMETHING that makes a dent in this stuff. XD