New DD owner- What’s the deal with staining?

My first DD, Miku Reboot, just came in the mail today. I love her already, but haven’t had the chance to finish dressing her because I had to go out. I know body stockings are a thing, but I don’t have one. I started dressing her anyway before I truly look into that. 

I’m the type that probably would consider putting the arm tattoo on. To me she’s just Miku and it’s unlikely she’ll wear anything else. The extra outfits are expensive, and the only one so far I’d be tempted by is Ribbon Girl.

What should I be mindful of to avoid staining and how much should I be concerned?

On 5/25/2019 at 8:17 AM, marcecloud said:

My first DD, Miku Reboot, just came in the mail today. I love her already, but haven’t had the chance to finish dressing her because I had to go out. I know body stockings are a thing, but I don’t have one. I started dressing her anyway before I truly look into that. 

I’m the type that probably would consider putting the arm tattoo on. To me she’s just Miku and it’s unlikely she’ll wear anything else. The extra outfits are expensive, and the only one so far I’d be tempted by is Ribbon Girl.

What should I be mindful of to avoid staining and how much should I be concerned?

My original Miku got grey blotches all over from her default outfit, and green stains from the piping. The problem with her outfit is it doesn’t really work well with a body stocking due to the way the top is cut. You can get the Miku specific stocking with the number 1 on it, but it’s probably going to be really obvious that she is wearing it. 

When I got my first DD Kos-Mos I figured she would go in a display case and only wear her default outfit, but then I found it was a lot of fun to dress the character Kos-Mos in other styles. She hasn’t worn that outfit since first I got her. Not saying everyone is like that, but you may be surprised. 

Ribbon Girl is insanely overpriced after market, and all the Vocaloid outfits tend to be expensive. There is a lot of other stuff that Volks sells that you can dress them in. You can get 2 or 3 normal outfits for the price of on Vocaloid outfit. 

I have my Snow Miku in this, and it isn’t Vocaloid at all but it’s perfect for her. At $77 it’s affordable too  

https://volksusastore.com/webstores/dollfie/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=7733#

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by BeyondTime

I don't have an original Miku, but I know from others that her default outfit stains.  On the other hand, if she's never going to change clothes, maybe it doesn't matter?

Personally, each of my dolls becomes someone specific, even if they're not the character Volks originally sold them as.  So, even if I personally wouldn't put the decals on my Tohsaka Rin, Ranka Lee, or Snow Miku, I can understand the idea of doing so.  Personally, I have no intention of ever putting the decals on my girls that came with those options, but if the 01 tatoo is really important to your visualization of Miku, AND she's never going to not be Miku, then I'd say it's a personal preference.

After all, if you decide you want to get rid of the decal, then even if it can't be cleaned all you'll need is another standard semi-white arm.

The thing I can't really understand is the sentiment of never changing the doll's outfit.  I basically got in for the dress-up aspect, so that's why not engaging with that seems so alien to me.

(Ranka is looking at me accusingly right now. It's been a while since I changed her.)

I dunno.  My completely biased opinion is that you'll eventually see some alternate outfit you really want to see your doll in.  You'll eventually see some outfit you'll want to slap down $80 for.  And then you'll need shoes...

I don't think that affects the decal thing.  If it's important to you, it's just going to be a feature of your doll like the faceup itself.

My concern would be how durable the decal is over time with handling.  I don't think I've ever seen anyone comment on that aspect.

 

47 minutes ago, Gabriel said:

The thing I can't really understand is the sentiment of never changing the doll's outfit.  I basically got in for the dress-up aspect, so that's why not engaging with that seems so alien to me.

When I got Kos-Mos I had learned enough about staining to know she couldn't stay in her outfit 100% of the time without getting damaged. Before she even arrived I had a White Rose high school uniform to put her in when she wasn't wearing the other. Once I dressed her in it I immediately fell in love with the idea of Kos-Mos, this super powerful battle android capable of annihilating city sized starships with weapons she materializes out of thin air, as a totally ordinary teenage girl.

After that I was hooked on dressing them. XD

Again as I said before I am not everyone, so it's not intended as a judgement if someone doesn't get into that aspect of these dolls.

I think the insidious thing about Miku is that her outfits often come with alternate wigs and eyes. She's like the perfect gateway drug that introduces her buyers to all the aspects of changing your doll's personality and character by changing our her entire look. It's pretty seductive.

Of course, if you don't want to do that with her you can still enjoy her the other way just fine.

Edited May 26, 2019 by BeyondTime

I haven't had a lot of staining problems with my Miku. I left her in her default outfit (I'm not sure exactly the duration of time) with no body stocking, and I think I got some staining from the boots, notably on the back of her legs towards where the top of the boots touch the skin. I thought the default outfit had a pretty decent amount of white lining, which helps prevent staining.

To help protect her, I put the Volks skin tape not on Miku herself but by the zipper of her skirt, which isn't covered by lining. She also wears a headcap under her wig.

For colorful outfits without a lot of lining, I use the body stocking, especially when you don't see much of the skin/stocking, anyway. Currently she's in the Do Re Mi Fa Rondo outfit. 😊

Congratulations on your Miku! 😄

 

To be honest if you're set on keeping your doll as Miku, the main concern about staining is that prolonged exposure to the dye might lead to the stain actually bleeding further out around the surrounding areas. Vinyl from my experience, is absorbent of dye to the point that the pigment travels through the material.

It would be especially apparent if you intend on getting other Miku related attires.

Of course, I don't own a Miku, I don't know how much dye can go into her clothing, but I had some pretty bad staining on one of mine all around the forearm where a cute arm band once laid. 

It's hard to avoid stain with her default outfit or any color that is known to stain. I would recommend if you really worry about stain is to get a body stocking. My snow Miku didn't stain because I lined her outfit that isn't white in the skin tape. Even then I accidentally stained her on another outfit because I didn't have a body stocking and it took me 3 weeks to get the stain out. I unknowingly sat her on her back ribbon for about 30 min and then she have a giant red stain on her thigh. I regret instantly not having a body stocking on her.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Aireoko

I just got a Miku and Volks was sold out of body stockings so I ordered her one on Mandarake and put her in her clothing. Huge mistake. 
She came brand new and there are now black-ish stains all over her. On her shoulders, forearms, fingers... if I knew staining would be INSTANT I would have definitely waited for a bodysuit long before she arrived. 
for some reason she’s still staining even though I haven’t even touched her clothes after taking them off and I’m currently dousing everything in benzoyl peroxide. 
 

im literally so sad 

57 minutes ago, Chiakisenpai said:

for some reason she’s still staining

The vinyl will continue to draw in whatever dye is causing the stains. 

My Miku got grey blotches from her outfit, but they all came out with stain treatment. 

On 5/26/2019 at 1:01 PM, BeyondTime said:

When I got Kos-Mos I had learned enough about staining to know she couldn't stay in her outfit 100% of the time without getting damaged. Before she even arrived I had a White Rose high school uniform to put her in when she wasn't wearing the other. Once I dressed her in it I immediately fell in love with the idea of Kos-Mos, this super powerful battle android capable of annihilating city sized starships with weapons she materializes out of thin air, as a totally ordinary teenage girl.

 

i know EXACTLY what you mean. somehow, the concept makes her even more charming than ever... 😊

4 hours ago, Chiakisenpai said:

I just got a Miku and Volks was sold out of body stockings so I ordered her one on Mandarake and put her in her clothing. Huge mistake. 
She came brand new and there are now black-ish stains all over her. On her shoulders, forearms, fingers... if I knew staining would be INSTANT I would have definitely waited for a bodysuit long before she arrived. 
for some reason she’s still staining even though I haven’t even touched her clothes after taking them off and I’m currently dousing everything in benzoyl peroxide. 
 

im literally so sad 

The vinyl will absorb the dye for a while after exposure; whatever got on the surface is just spreading around. But! It will do the same thing with the benzoyl peroxide. I had to treat some black staining recently, and noticed that the peroxide continued to have a lightening effect for several days after I washed it off until the stains were completely gone. Even if you have to repeat the treatment a few times, since you caught the stain so early I don't see why you wouldn't be able to get rid of it.

My procedure was: liberally spread the benzoyl peroxide over the stain, wrap the part in cling film so the paste doesn't make a mess, wrap that in an electric heating pad set to medium (with a towel or blanket between the pad and the doll part) and leave it for several hours. Adding heat lets the peroxide really soak in, like a spa treatment. :V

Welcome to the Miku Mouse Club! I experienced some staining early on (Luka's boots) and from that point I just said all my girls are going to wear body stockings. The wrists look a little wrinkly, sure. But I don't often have them in skimpy outfits so I just put up with it. IMO, the reduction in staining is worth it. YMMV