Nonstaining Eye Putty?

Anyone know a good eye putty for vinyl dolls? The ones I know of for resins are colored and idk if that would stain, so I'm unsure of what to go for!

I use white poster putty. It’s pretty easy to find at bigger stores as well.

I personally use Mack's silicone earplugs as eye putty. It's clear so there's no risk of staining, and it's still easy to work with even after being left in my doll's head after a prolonged period of time. One plug torn in half is plenty of a pair of eyes. I never did care for poster tack; it's so sticky that it is almost glue-like which I absolutely hated, especially after getting it stuck underneath my fingernails, ugh.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Selenae

I used Collectors Hold Museum Putty for my eyes before switching to the dream fitter. The putty is easy to work with, and easy to clean up. I left it in for over a year before changing to the dream fitter with no staining or damage.  If you're using Volks eyes, I do like the dream fitter but it won't work with third party eyes unless they have the same backing. It's also nice to have that putty for other collectibles/vases around the house too.  

25 minutes ago, Selenae said:

I personally use Mack's silicone earplugs as eye putty. It's clear so there's no risk of staining, and it's still easy to work with even after being left in my doll's head after a prolonged period of time. One plug torn in half is plenty of a pair of eyes. I never did care for poster tack; it's so sticky that it is almost glue-like which I absolutely hated, especially after getting it stuck underneath my fingernails, ugh.

Ah, I've actually heard of these before! I had completely forgotten about them though, so thank you for the rec. They're really cheap, so I'll pick some up! And yes I totally agree about icky gluey putty. I've gotten secondhand heads with that stuff and it was a pain to clean out. 

I use silicone earplugs as well. I’ve heard about discoloration from them,  but I’ve never had that issue myself. 

Thirding silicone earplugs!

50 minutes ago, Selenae said:

I never did care for poster tack; it's so sticky that it is almost glue-like which I absolutely hated, especially after getting it stuck underneath my fingernails, ugh.

I managed to get my Hatsune Miku thanks to some melted putty!  It was all over the eyes and had pooled in the chin/bottom area of the head and it took me over an hour to get everything out using various methods! o|< The trick was using new fresh poster tack to grab the old melty stuff, made it so much easier!  But it's still terrible when it gets under your nails and it dries out your skin, too!  Ugh.

40 minutes ago, DesertPhantom51 said:

I used Collectors Hold Museum Putty for my eyes before switching to the dream fitter. The putty is easy to work with, and easy to clean up. I left it in for over a year before changing to the dream fitter with no staining or damage.  If you're using Volks eyes, I do like the dream fitter but it won't work with third party eyes unless they have the same backing. It's also nice to have that putty for other collectibles/vases around the house too.  

You can get the Dream Fitter to somewhat work with other eyes so long as they're flat-backed.  You can use a poster tack of choice to hold the back of the Dream Fitter part onto the back of the eye and then set them in.  They're a little extra thick using this method, and don't necessarily turn great using the Dream Fitter Stick, but I also find that even Volks eyes with the Dream Fitter don't move super easily using the Stick, either, so I don't mind it too much.  It's still much better than dealing with putty.

I use plastic Koh-I-Nor erraser for artists. I did not notice any issues. Use only at your own risk.  

@BeyondTime Ah, yeah, the silicone eye putty will discolor silicone eyes - I ruined a rather expensive pair that way. Silicone doesn't like touching other silicone, apparently. But I've had no reactions from Mack's with resin, acrylic, or glass eyes.

@sweets You're very welcome!

Edited August 11, 2020 by Selenae

22 minutes ago, Selenae said:

Ah, yeah, the silicone eye putty will discolor silicone eyes

The discoloration I had heard of was to the doll not the eyes. 

@BeyondTime Really? Huh, that's so weird. I've never heard of Mack's discoloring a doll. Silicone eyes yes, but not an actual doll. O.o;;

1 minute ago, Selenae said:

Really? Huh, that's so weird. I've never heard of Mack's discoloring a doll. Silicone eyes yes, but not an actual doll. O.o;;

No idea what brand was used by the person who reported it. I’ve never had the stuff I use stain. 

I've seen mention that the silicone ear plugs will stain, but I haven't seen it happen.

My first doll from over five years ago had her eyes swapped out and the new ones stuck in with silicone earplugs.  I haven't noticed any staining yet.  The last time I opened up her head to check was probably about 6 months ago or so.

I don't doubt the people who make the claim have seen it happen.  I just haven't seen it happen to mine.  I also didn't learn about the claim of earbuds staining until I had used the material to stick in eyes on four DDs.  I suspect, like many things DD, it depends on the brand of earbuds, climate, and other factors.

I think the brand of earplugs I used were Mack's. 

Edit: I have a pack of the Volks eye putty, but I've never used it.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Gabriel

Right now I use Duck removable poster putty, it's an off-white color and doesn't stain or leave grease marks. I used to use the Mack's earplugs but they're not as useful for me- in cold temps they don't stick well or fall off, it's not as secure holding the eyes in place as poster putty, and they tend to pick up every bit of dust/dirt/lint so after a while look kinda gross. Plus I can use the poster putty to secure eyes in their packaging when I ship them, the silicon wouldn't hold them the whole trip and might even melt.

I also use silicone ear plugs (Macs brand I believe it is) and also, have never had staining or issues.

I use the clear ear plugs and the ones Volks sells in their store. 

Funny enough, when I first got into bjds, the only poster putty I found was this bright blue one, so I used that for years. (It didn't seem to stain my dolls at the time.) 

 

Edited August 12, 2020 by Syko

17 hours ago, Syko said:

Funny enough, when I first got into bjds, the only poster putty I found was this bright blue one, so I used that for years. (It didn't seem to stain my dolls at the time.) 

I've used the blue poster tack for years in my BJDs!  All three of my remaining resin boys use it and one has had it for the past... eight? years with no problem, other than it gets loose or melts over time and you have to swap it out for a new piece.  Blue Tack/Fun Tack/Poster Tack will leave an oily mark on painted walls/paper after enough time however, so there is always the risk for vinyl dolls that it could leave an oily stain or otherwise harm the vinyl in that way, but I have no experience in that field.  I would imagine it could also damage certain kinds of eyes other a long period of time, but I only use acrylic and glass eyes for my BJD.

I've been using UHU poster tac for a while with no issues. It's a white clay color. Bought it off amazon.

Edited August 13, 2020 by sunlightandtea