Cleaning your dolls

I've cleaned my dolls, I unstring them and use a bit of soap and water and a for the tough spots I lightly rub it with a Magic Eraser (a melamine sponge). Afterwards I set them on a small towel to dry. The hard part is putting them back together! XD

So I would say try rubbing it with a damp melamine sponge and see how that goes.

 

Omg really ??? I am in the hobby almost one year and I used magic sponge a lot of times . It is abrasive ? And how the stains from the black clothes could leave ? With soap and water ? I asked so many people and everyone said to me to use this sponge .

 

I give them a wipe over with water if they're grubby, add dish soap if they're grubbier, or a magic sponge if that doesn't shift it (not the facup area, of course, as the magic sponge could take off some fo the sealant)

If the resin has discoloured/yellowed, rthe thn having surface dirt, I unstring the body and give it a soak with Polident (denture/prosthetic cleaner) and possiby a scrub with a nailbrish or electric toothbrush, and a rinse bfore drying and restringing them. So far that's only been necessary on a few of my dolls and averages once in ten years or so.

Teddy

 

I clean my dolls pretty frequently! I usually just use soap and water, but sometimes just water is enough (by far my biggest issue is accumulated fuzzies from their clothes which gather in their joints, and those can just be wiped away with a wet cloth)

I would suggest rubbing alcohol, a melamine sponge or even acetone depending on the situation. If the stain is on a leg or torso and is not sealed, I would try rubbing alcohol. If It's on the face or near body blushing, I would go for a melamine sponge. Just yesterday one of my dolls fell off the shelf and got a dark scuff on his cheek, and thankfully gentle rubbing with a wet melamine sponge got it off without even affecting the faceup in any way.

In my experience brush cleaners are kinda dodgy as a doll cleaning/faceup removal material since they're likely to have oils in them. W&N is the one I see recommended for doll cleaning, and from my experience it feels very oily so I don't trust it around my dolls.

I find this thread very helpful when it comes to doll maintenance like this!

 

Don't worry. Yes, it is abrasive, but it is so minimal it doesn't really harm the surface. It falls apart before you could make a reasonable difference. So using it to clean your doll is completely safe

Overall magic eraser and rubbing alcohol works the best for the majority of surface stains and any kind of dirt.
Only use it on unpainted, unsealed surfaces of course.
If it's vinyl, it won't work that way though since stains are not on the surface, that requires harsher methods.

 

I really only clean my dolls when I notice them getting visibly dirty. Sometimes a quick spot clean with a magic eraser is enough, sometimes I need to fully wipe the doll down with magic eraser and alcohol, stripping the blushing and sealant. Which reminds me, my favorite and most handled doll desperately needs a bath, I’ve just been avoiding it because I dread redoing his tattoos.

 

usually, I just use soap and water, and this won't remove the face-up. I will clean them with the magic eraser if it is very dirty, and it works! I also use alcohol wipes sometimes, but I feel like the magic eraser works the best as you can visibly see the dirty things coming off..

 

Generally, if only somewhere is dirty, you can use the magic eraser to wipe off with a little water. If the water does not work, it is best to add a little diluent, but it is likely to damage the makeup.