Hi.....

Umm....I messed my dollfie dream up by accident. I dyed my dollfie dream tan and it worked but I didn't realize that there was a stain on her. I didn't know I could replace her torso so I tried to get the stain out using oxy10 and it worked but turned the spot orange. I thought I could fix it by putting oxy10 on the whole body to match and now my doll is orange tan. I was happy with it but I got her a new head and bust from volks usa and I can't get the color to match. Is there a way I could get the orange out? I tried tanning using rit dyemore but it ends up still orange. Like the oxy10 won't let it change another color. I don't know what to do. I was thinking of replacing the parts (torso and legs and arms) over time but I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on how to fix her. Thanks for reading.  I'm having severe anxiety over this post please don't be mean.....

Edited November 10, 2023 by Willow

I'll start with the bad news...Staining and dyeing are, functionally, the same thing for vinyl. Both are caused by pigment being absorbed by the material, it's just that dyeing is done on purpose.

That's why your stain removal also lightened your dye. Stain removal also sits in the vinyl for a while after application, which is why your dye didn't take when you tried dyeing her again. It's why you should never dye a secondhand doll, because any stain remover used at any point means the dye will never work where it was applied, leading to an uneven dye job.

The other bad news is that, because staining and dyeing are the same thing to vinyl, dye will fade out of vinyl with time, just like a stain would. Even if you replace the full vinyl shell and re-dye your doll perfectly, the dye will eventually fade in a year or two and make her orange again, if it fades evenly. People who've dyed their dolls in the past typically report it fading unevenly within the year the doll is dyed. It's why I never ever recommend dyeing vinyl dolls like you would a resin. It's a lot of work for something that only looks good for a little while!

That does lead to a bit of good news, though, if you are dead set on getting this specific color. Use your existing vinyl and pick up some Angelus Leather Paints, or a flexible spray paint meant for vinyl from an auto body shop. Flexible paint, applied in thin coats and sealed properly, gets you the same results, stands up to wear much better than dye does, doesn't fade as much over time, and if you DO get a stain, you can just paint over it. You'll have to worry about the paint cracking and peeling over time, but it's always fixable. The only thing you'll have to worry about is the joints not matching, but considering you dyed your girl already, you probably know about that and are okay with it already!

And if that sounds like too much work, I recommend looking into Smart Doll and Imomodoll. Those two brands have some darker skin tone options in vinyl, though they each have their own problems: Imomo only has 1/4 and 75cm dolls available, and their frame is newer, so they haven't had as much time to make a quality one like the big vinyl brands have, so it won't pose as well. Smart Doll is pretty expensive, don't have a lot of replacement parts available, and have limited sculpt availability, but they're a great choice for a DD sized doll that can use most, if not all, of her clothes. As for the cost, I've gotten a doll in their darkest skin tone from the secondhand market on Facebook for about $300, so depending on what you're looking for, it may not be too pricy.

Sorry you've had such a hard time with vinyl so far. Best of luck with fixing her!

Edited November 10, 2023 by Oculae
It's dyeing, not dying.... d'oh....