Just how bad are stains?

Hello all!

I've been struggling to bond with my Anastasia because my vision for her is all black/gothic, but I've never dressed a doll in all black before.
I have a body stocking for her but my issue is I'd like to dress her in black lingerie and obviously I don't want to use the stocking for that. I know it'll be fine for a photo shoot or so, but I'd like to keep her dressed like that.

 

So my question is, just how bad are stains?
why do we fear them so much?
I don't plan on re-selling my Anastasia, but even if I did, the stains can be removed right? is there such thing as a stain you can't get out (from clothing?)

I'll still rinse the lingerie in cold water before i put it on her, but personally I'm not too bothered by stains? I didn't buy her to do photoshoots or anything like that. I just like to look at her! So if the stains don't bother me, do I need to be cautious? Do I need to worry? I'm holding back with her in fear of stains but I don't think that's the right way to go about this hobby. 

 

Basically, I need reassurance that stains are okay! They do come out, right? and even then, I can always purchase replacement body parts for her if one day I do decide to sell

First and foremost, not all black fabric is guaranteed to stain. I have a fair amount of black clothes (including lingerie) that are perfectly stain safe. I recommend testing the outfit in question with some scrap vinyl (or a spare hand) for a couple days or weeks.

It also depends a bit on the seller. E.g. I never had issues with lingerie from TcDoll (only their black leather stuff is sometimes risky), from Aile D'ore or from Pongee. Doll Heart also tends to do a good job at keeping any staining fabric separated from the doll skin.

Then again, stains can always be treated easily as long as they don't affect a painted area (face). So while they're annoying, they aren't a catastrophe.

If you’re not bothered by stains, then don’t worry about it. None of my girls have stained that badly, but I’ve heard it’s possible to stain them so bad the stains don’t come out, although heat seems to increase the effectiveness of Dream Rescue considerably. Worst case scenario, Anastasia is semi-white skin, so you can always buy replacement parts if they do end up bothering you after all.

I will say, though, there are people on the forums that will tell you stains are no big deal and I hugely disagree. Stain treatment has always been a huge headache for me since you have to disassemble the doll and treat each body part separately, wait a few days for the cream to do its job, then clean them off, make sure they’re dry, and put the doll back together, all while finding the space to do this and keeping them clean so they don’t accidentally get dirty again.

If you’re low energy like me, this is a lot of trouble and it never ends because they can always stain again at any time, and sometimes you miss a small area and have to redo the process all over again before you even finish the first time…

Here's a very informative thread about stains that I've studied thoroughly many times 

 

1 hour ago, catcat said:

I'll still rinse the lingerie in cold water before i put it on her

Soaking it in water with white/apple cider vinegar can help lock in the dye (just wash it after with soap to remove the smell).

 

1 hour ago, catcat said:

They do come out, right? and even then, I can always purchase replacement body parts for her if one day I do decide to sell

Of course, as long as the head/face are free of stains you can replace any other part. About them coming out, my understanding is that it depends on the intensity and how early you catch it and treat it.

 

In the end, it's your doll, that you own to enjoy yourself. If stopping yourself from using certain clothes is limiting your enjoyment more than the possibility of staining some areas (specially if you're going to keep them covered anyway) then go ahead and use them (you can always test the item with a spare part like a hand as Tierparkzone said). 

thank you everyone for your input!
 

17 hours ago, Rheynna said:

Soaking it in water with white/apple cider vinegar can help lock in the dye (just wash it after with soap to remove the smell).

i'll definitely give this a try

i ordered from cool cat which as far as i know they do stain, so i'm just gonna go ahead and dress her how i want. 
my biggest concern is the fishnet stockings, i could possibly cut my body stocking so that it just covers her lower half. i cant imagine how bad it would be to get out stocking stains from all over her legs

1 hour ago, catcat said:

i ordered from cool cat which as far as i know they do stain, so i'm just gonna go ahead and dress her how i want. 
my biggest concern is the fishnet stockings, i could possibly cut my body stocking so that it just covers her lower half. i cant imagine how bad it would be to get out stocking stains from all over her legs

You could also double-layer some pantyhose. I have Night of Fascination Cecily from the Black Raven Azone series, her fullset came with some really nice, fine black fishnets. I was worried about staining when I ordered her and discovered when she came that they were designed double-layered.

  

Even these have some black stitching on the inside that is not covered by the neutral toned pantyhose. I had no issues with this piece but it probably came down to the material it's made of, meaning it wasn't dyed. On that note, I'll repeat what I wrote in the TinyFox thread on this forum:

Quote

 

"It depends on how every little component in the outfit was dyed and made and what plastic your doll is made of; this applies for every kind of BJD and doll, not just TF.

What I mean by this is I've had small stains occur from the thread in an outfit. The sweater was white but used navy coloured thread and it left a tiny mark on her wrist (this was on a TF doll in this case).

Whether or not a material will stain comes down to how it was made. Some materials are synthetic and made in a particular colour from the beginning, and not dyed. These should not stain. The tricky part is we don't usually get all of these details when purchasing materials."

 

I've also done soaking rounds for some clothing pieces. I soaked with a mix of dish-soap and oxy. One piece I soaked about 5 times until I was comfortable with how little it stained the water after each round; even by the end the water was still coming out a tiny bit coloured. That item never stained my DDdy, but I also don't leave on pieces I'm concerned about for extremely long periods of time.

If you really, really want to make your gothic Anastasia dreams come true, you could create lining pieces for every piece of the outfit. For example, if she's wearing a black choker or necklace, create a lining out of a light material to back behind the necklace. And then do the same for all of your components, like sleeve cuffs, socks, etc.

Edited April 22 by Veravey
spelling

I think this stain on my poor old Kirika is the worst I've ever seen...

It was caused by a PVC choker.

As you can see in the inset photo I almost totally destained it, and a year on it's not noticeable at all.

The stain mostly went in a couple of hours after I put her benzoyl peroxide covered bust part on my storage heater then forgot it was there. Fortunately vinyl has a very high melting point.

Staining is still quite routine in this house, despite all the precautions. For this reason I tend to redress everyone on a regular basis.

On 4/22/2024 at 1:32 PM, Veravey said:

You could also double-layer some pantyhose. I have Night of Fascination Cecily from the Black Raven Azone series, her fullset came with some really nice, fine black fishnets. I was worried about staining when I ordered her and discovered when she came that they were designed double-layered.

  

Even these have some black stitching on the inside that is not covered by the neutral toned pantyhose. I had no issues with this piece but it probably came down to the material it's made of, meaning it wasn't dyed. On that note, I'll repeat what I wrote in the TinyFox thread on this forum:

I've also done soaking rounds for some clothing pieces. I soaked with a mix of dish-soap and oxy. One piece I soaked about 5 times until I was comfortable with how little it stained the water after each round; even by the end the water was still coming out a tiny bit coloured. That item never stained my DDdy, but I also don't leave on pieces I'm concerned about for extremely long periods of time.

If you really, really want to make your gothic Anastasia dreams come true, you could create lining pieces for every piece of the outfit. For example, if she's wearing a black choker or necklace, create a lining out of a light material to back behind the necklace. And then do the same for all of your components, like sleeve cuffs, socks, etc.

do you know where i can buy double layered fishnets for 1/3rd scale? i'd like to pick some up for my doll

Closest I know of are these, but the two layers make them hard to get on.

https://www.dolldelights.com/store/Stain-Prevention-Leggings-p154979335

16 hours ago, catcat said:

do you know where i can buy double layered fishnets for 1/3rd scale? i'd like to pick some up for my doll

Trying keeping it simple and not buying combined double-layer fishnets, just put neutral pantyhose on underneath the fishnets, you can find them individually~ ( ´ ω ` )

Edited May 13 by Veravey
grammar

On 5/14/2024 at 9:40 AM, Veravey said:

Trying keeping it simple and not buying combined double-layer fishnets, just put neutral pantyhose on underneath the fishnets, you can find them individually~ ( ´ ω ` )

ooh this is such a good idea! do you know where to order neutral pantyhose? anastasia is semi-white skin.