Removing stains on the face

Hi,

 

I'm checking my dollfies every couple of weeks and just noticed something horrible on one of my girls.

She was constantly protected by glass and I'm sure she has not come with it a couple of weeks ago when I bought her but now I saw she has a subtle dark dot near her nose (I have added a picture, I hope you can see it. It's more noticeable in reallife, my camera just sucks xD)

It's no dust particle.

Is it possible to remove it without damaging the face-up? I love her the way she is. ;-; 

Oh dear!

I guess you already tried a wet cotton swab or the tip of a melamine sponge in case it is just a surface smudge?

The usual stain treatment methods will likely cause some collateral damage. If you don't have have shaky hands maybe a cotton swab with a dab of paint thinner could do the trick?

On the other hand, if you just let it sit, it should eventually diffuse and become practically invisible after a while. However I don't have enough experience with stains dissolving in Dollfie vinyl to say if we're talking weeks, months or the better part of a year...

In my experience there are 4 methods you can try. 

-The easiest and quickest is the magic eraser foam sponge. I got mine in amazon but you can get them also in cleaning stores. However this method only works with surface stains. 

-Dream rescue: this is the cream volks sells and, IMO is the best and safe method for your case just if the magic eraser doesn't work. You apply a thin layer and wait for 1 - 2 days before removing it with a soft cloth and lukewarm water. Usually this process could take two or three times, or maybe more depending on the stain.

-A grain 600 sandpaper. It sounds pretty risky (because it could be if you're not careful). Danny Choo (Smartdoll brand owner) use this in certain situations. I tested it with stains residues and surface stains and, in adittion to remove them, it smooths the vynil skin.

-Another risky method is the 20 - 40 peroxide cream used for the hair, that you can get in beauty stores. You spread the peroxide with a soft brush over the stained zone and leave it exposed to the sun or a uv lamp for around 1 - 3 hours. The trick here is not the heat, but the uv light intensity that reacts with the peroxide. Usually, this method is used to remove the plastic yellowing caused by sun exposition over the years (videogame consoles, computers or items with white plastic surfaces), but it works with vynil too. I tested it with a DD head to clean makeup residues and with a very old yellowed DD III body as well. It worked perfectly with the head but not so good with the body since the difference is barely noticeable. I'm asumming this is because the yellowing is too deep. The body is 10 years old after all. So, I guess I'll do this again later. For your case, I dont see this method necessary. It's too extreme. But I share it in case you need it in the future.

Edited September 6, 2020 by Pit

1 hour ago, Pit said:

It worked perfectly with the head but not so good with the body since the difference is barely noticeable. I'm asumming this is because the yellowing is too deep. The body is 10 years old after all.

There's a second RetroBrighting method that might work better for this, which is to submerge the parts in a 12% hydrogen peroxide solution (not 3% like you buy in most shops) and expose to UV light until the vinyl returns to its original colour.  You may need to let the body sit for much longer also, if the yellowing is extensive, but I feel like the submersion method yields better results and would give you good even results on all the body pieces with less effort than the cream method.  I haven't seen someone use this method on vinyl doll parts before, so it's unknown if this would result in the pieces expanding or not initially, so it would need to be tested, but still something to consider!

 

More on topic:  Dream Rescue is probably the safest first choice, though I don't know if it would react with layers of sealant or not.  A melamine sponge / Mr Clean Magic Eraser would be a good choice also, just remember to be gentle and use a circular motion, as they are a mild abrasive, and if your doll has a custom faceup, the sponge/eraser could buff off the layers of sealant and result in a section of the face that's a different texture.

Tyvm for the replies!

 

It's super annoying, I still have absolutely, no idea how this could have happened. ;-; I have only touched her a few times and nothing was even near her face.

I have not tried it with a wet cloth yet but it really looks like smth. that has changed the colour of the vinyl. 

I will try it with a magic eraser first then then with this rescue cream.

It's an original faceup by Volks and I don't want to ruin it. ;-; I was so happy to finally have Ram and now that...

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Victoria

7 hours ago, Victoria said:

now I saw she has a subtle dark dot near her nose

That does look like a stain to me, so I don't think it's going to wipe off. You could gently try a wet Q-Tip just to be sure.

You have two options that may work:

The first is just simply wait for the stain to fade. The process that pulls the dye into the vinyl in the first place keeps working to draw the dye farther in, and as a result small light stains can just fade on their own. It may take a few months for that to happen, but judging by the photo I think this stain has a good chance of fading without you using anything on it except patience. My Makoto Kikuchi got a very small stain right on the edge of her blush, so there was nothing I could do except wait it out to see if it faded, and it eventually did. I love her just as she is, and wiping her face wasn't an acceptable choice to me.

The second option is Dream Rescue, but only if the stain isn't under her face-up. For a spot that small you can use a toothpick to apply a very tiny bit of Dream Rescue, almost a single grain, right on top of the spot. Just be sure to position the head so that gravity isn't going to pull the Dream Rescue down to another part of the face that is painted. (Sorry, I could not think of a better way to say that.)

With Dream Rescue you want to change it every 48 hours. Use a Q-Tip to carefully clean it off that one spot, and then wet the other side and clean off any residue that was left behind. You can then blot it dry with a paper towel. Then check the stain and apply a bit more if it needs it. Even after the stain has faded there is usually a bit of discoloration where the stain was, but that fades completely in a few weeks.

Normally you should cover the part with plastic to keep the Dream Rescue moist while it works, and for that I usually cut zip-lock bags into small squares and stick them on the cream. In this case that may risk smearing the cream onto her blush, so it might be best to just forgo the plastic and change the cream if it dries out.

Dream Rescue is toxic so don't get it on your hands or leave the head where animals or kids can get to it.