Total Noob Strikes Again: White stuff all over after cleaning?

I cleaned my girl's head to prepare her for a new skin tone and faceup, but now she's covered with patches of this white waxy stuff!  I only used 91% isopropyl alcohol, water, and dish soap.  I've attached an example image, but it's honestly in patches all over.

Should I just buy a new head and retire this one for practice, or is there some way to clean the white stuff off?

Did the head have a sealant on it before?  My initial reaction is just that it needs to be wiped more but I’ve only worked on one head (Still when I didn’t fully remove sealant when doing that, it looked like this)

Edited September 26, 2021 by abs2891

Yeah, id did have some Mr. Super Clear on it before.  But no matter how much I scrub with the alcohol, I can't seem to get rid of the white stuff.  It's especially bad in the crevices around the eyes, ears, and mouth.  Should I be using something stronger?

 

I also went ahead and ordered another head anyway, since this one was secondhand to begin with and has some wig staining from the previous owner (and I need a practice head haha).  I'd still like to get all this... white sealant off though.

I suspect it's leftover sealant, in that case. Isopropyl maaaaay not be strong enough to get it all off.

I do not know if acetone is safe to use on vinyl, but Volks paint removers like paint remover eco are safe to use and probably stronger than isopropyl. Mr. Color Thinner also works and should be available in most hobby stores.

Edited September 26, 2021 by Gallye

It's leftover sealant! You just need to clean it more (with the rubbing alcohol) and using a q-tip or a small rag/cloth to gently wipe helps as well. I find focusing on a smaller area rather getting half the doll's face wet with rubbing alcohol helps not have this happen. If you still can't get it off, brush cleaner will do the trick.

Some Tamiya X-20A thinner, do you think that would work?  I'm also gonna order some paint remover eco I think.

Thinners and such, like acetone, and lacquer thinners, generally are a big no-no when it comes to vinyl.

For no reason whatsoever use MEK, or, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, unless you want a sticky glob of goo!! 

As a modeler, I've used products like Mean Green, or Purple Power, which are heavy-duty degreasers, to remove paints from plastic parts if they didn't turn out 

as I wanted. (Side note: it used to be common practice to use brake fluid to clean paint, but it deformed the plastic, if left too long. fair warning)

The plastics are very different from vinyl, but might work for removing paints and clearcoats. 

use a spare piece of vinyl to make sure it won't "swell up" if left overnight. But, I think the degreasers might do what you need. 

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by battrastard

It's probably a little controversial since a lot of people don't recommend it, but I personally use 100% acetone from the hardware store.
You just have to work fast and to allow it to evaporate. It's very strong so it depends on your comfort level.

 

I think I've actually used the X20-A before, if I recall rightly (it was many years ago).  I might spot-check it on the headcap.

1 hour ago, Kendansa said:

I think I've actually used the X20-A before, if I recall rightly (it was many years ago).  I might spot-check it on the headcap.

Fwiw tamiya acrylic thinner is just isopropyl alcohol with flow additives so it probably won’t be significantly different.

Edited September 27, 2021 by Subaru

Package actually says butyl alcohol, but I have no idea if that would be any more effective because I'm no chemist.