Does removing a faceup damage the vinyl?

Hello everyone,

 

Please feel free to correct me if this has already been discussed elsewhere! I tried to look for a thread covering this but I failed to find anything.

 

I recently read in an article that removing a DDs faceup will damage the vinyl and change its texture. However, I am questioning this as I have seen no mention of it on the forum so far. It seems plausible that using certain products to remove a faceup may cause damage to the doll, but I assume that there's some safe methods as well? If so, which products would you recommend and how would I go at it?

 

Thanks in advance!

I've used 90% isopropyl alcohol to remove a Zoukei-Mura Matte coat and an underlying body blush and the vinyl was fine afterwards.

 

Never done a head though. I have read do not use acetone because it shrinks the vinyl.

Acetone fumes are also a lot nastier than the 90% alcohol, so there's that too.

 

I've removed homemade/artist faceups with 90% alcohol with no damage to the vinyl. (I did, however, once damage a head post-wipe during stain treatment because I put a lamp WAY too close to the head--wound up burning it. Whoops. . . )

 

I haven't yet removed a default/factory faceup, but I doubt it'd be that much different from an artist faceup. I am intending to give my Miku a new faceup, so if things don't go to plan this summer when I wipe her for that, I'll let you guys know.

Thank you, both! I'm not planning to remove any faceups any time soon, but I know that accidents can happen, so I thought I had better be prepared!

 

Acetone fumes are also a lot nastier than the 90% alcohol, so there's that too.

Acetone is absolutely awful on most plastics, so I would expect no less from something as porous as vinyl. I've read about people destroying their dolls that way... Scary!

Two things I just remembered.

 

The ZM coat came off easily enough just using cotton balls, and q-tips, with alcohol on them. It did take extra care to get it completely off certain areas like around the breasts, the butt, Adam's apple, and collar bones. Just because you had to take care to really get into depressions in the shape of the vinyl. This was on a torso, but I would think you'd have even more of those hard to reach spots on a head. It seemed to come off in layers too, so I had to go over each area a few times to get it all off.

 

I also got sticky clear coat remnants on my fingers once I started working. Disposable surgical gloves are a good idea, and be careful what you touch once you get going.

 

I changed cotton balls frequently, and washed my hands a lot.

I usually use 100% acetone to remove paint. It's important to note that you should not soak it, as this is what damages the plastic, and be sure to rinse it with water afterwards. I use acetone on my vinyl My Little Ponies with no problems.

 

I have used 100% acetone on my first DD faceup. Here is what came on the results.

 

1) Very strong fumes, sometimes unbearable.

2) Wipes faceups pretty fast

3) It yellowed my WS DD head.

 

Since it's a WS head, it yellowed outrageously fast about after 4 faceup wipes. Luckily the head is only going to be used for practice faceups.

(And yes I did remember to rinse it after I used the acetone.)

 

I highly do not recommend 100% acetone for wiping faceups on white skin DDs. Sorry it's all I know. I haven't tried a different colored head.

 

 

I normally use pure acetone now to remove faceups because of how effectively it cuts through layers of sealant, paint, etc. Much, much faster and easier than the 70% isopropyl alcohol and nail polish remover I was using before! Acetone has to be used carefully though. You do NOT want it to get on any parts of a faceup you want to keep, obviously, because it would remove it instantly. You also want to keep any of the joints/frame parts far away because the ABS plastic sections would also degrade and melt on contact. The other type of plastic found in doll internal frames, POM, is a lot more resistant.

 

As for whether it damages vinyl.. it depends on what you consider damaging. ^^" If you soak an entire piece of (doll) vinyl in acetone in a sealed container for several hours/days it'll balloon up until you remove it. Afterwards it will shrink over the next days/weeks and end up much harder than it was before. I did a pretty lengthy experiment thread about how that went over here. Obviously in this application the vinyl was altered on purpose.

 

HOWEVER, during a normal faceup removal you don't soak heads for hours on end, and acetone evaporates extremely quickly so it doesn't stay on your doll for long. Perhaps if you did a lot(like.. 20+ maybe???) of faceups on the same head and always used acetone, it might harden a bit but I think it's kinda neglible...

 

That being said, because acetone also removes added dyes(I'm currently doing a dyed doll custom) if left on the doll for too long I'm using 91% alcohol for dyed dolls, which works without removing my hard work. xD

 

I was surprised to learn that acetone shrinks vinyl. I knew that it hardened it, but seeing how this must be a result of the shrinking effect, it makes perfect sense. Thank you all for your input!