this is so helpful and very comforting to a beginner like me who's never actually tried cleaning my doll's faceup off before! i've been very paranoid about accidentally ruining or damaging my baby, but this helps soothe my fears! thank you!!
interesting, i think acetone is the best option, lets remember that acetone evaporates super fast so even if you dont rinse the acetone it wont do anything to the doll cause in 1 minute or so it will be evaporated, and i think is the best option cause it gets the job done in an efective and quick way and no one is going to soak their doll on acetone like in the video, it would be more interesting if you painted a little "faceup" in the donuts so we can se how quickly is out of the resin, i wonder if water really takes out the faceup.
basically, as long as you take the safety measures, it's not a problem to use any of these solvents in dolls. I personally use acrylic thinner because it's faster to work with and I can get those really stubborn stains out easier. Also acetone is almost impossible to find here because it's used to dilute cocaine it seems x.x but yeah... being aware of the time of exposure and always rinsing it off thoroughly, you'll be safe :3 thanks for the experiment!
This is really interesting! I use rubbing alcohol to wipe off faceups, but it's good to know the brush cleaner is fairly safe for my purposes when I do need to use it.
There is safe nail polish remover without acetone (good for dolls like pullips so far, not sure for all dolls, opinions are biased but I think Pullips are so frail, it's hard to make several attempts at face ups without ruining the doll!) and sometimes they make me less sick and dizzy to the scent lol. Definitely my favourite but not all of them are great. I think the best think to always do first is testing on a part you cannot see on the head once the doll is finished (the back).
That's a good recommendation! I have chemical sensitivities too so I have to be very careful about what I use on my dolls :) I will have to see if I can find some acetone free nail polish remover to experiment with.
I work with epoxy resin a lot and have cleaned up a lot of mistakes of cured resin. While acetone doesn't "melt" resin per se, it breaks it down more or less. I've cleaned out old nail polish bottles that I've filled with resin, with acetone. It becomes brittle and flakes away. Just like you see in this video.
Yup! I had wanted to include it this time originally, but I could only find 3 small clear containers. I'll be doing at least one more round with a few more solvents.
Amazing! Thank you so much for the comparison, it's very helpful. Another thing I hear a lot is that coloured nail polish removers like the pink or light blue ones will stain your doll.. is that something you would consider testing as well?
ive been in the hobby since 2006 and had it drilled into my head NEVER EVER to use Acetone on resin. Its not that it melts per say like with other hard plastics but it CAN make it more brittle over time with repeated use
Yes, I've heard that as well. I've been in the community since 2008 and one of my goals is to challenge hobby misconceptions and myths, as well as provide detailed information about why we do the things we do and use the materials we choose. "Never use oil-based anything on dolls" is another one I heard a lot, but in the past year I was able to dip into that issue to explain what the risks actually were, and when you might WANT to use them. Like acetone, when correctly used, oils are not damaging. My dolls that were damaged from faceup removal were damaged with 91% rubbing alcohol, not acetone. The important part of this experiment was learning what damage looks like, so you know what to watch for to see if a doll isn't tolerating a cleaner well. Some dolls are melted or damaged by Winsor & Newton brush cleaner, too. 😱
I usually use Windsor and Newton brush cleaner as much as possible then finish off the job with nail polish remover. But after like 5 minutes of use I wash the dolls head and continue with removing. Never had any problems. But I have mostly fairyland dolls. So maybe That’s why.
I have never had that experience when scrubbing with acetone... I even have a video up where I use it to remove a faceup with no problems and I was scrubbing quite hard. But that will vary by resin quality and length of exposure as well so nothing I do will ever replicate all possibilities. There are just too many companies with different qualities of resin. :)
No, I don't recommend the brush cleaner for vinyl, as the conditioner chemicals in it that protect harder plastics like resin can cause the plasticizers in vinyl to leach, causing them to turn sticky with time. Acetone is the best option for vinyl dolls. Vinyl can be exposed to acetone for hours before it will show signs of exposure, and then all that happens is the vinyl will shrink :)
Antonia is correct, water will not budge a faceup on its own. You have to use a solvent like acetone, brush cleaner, or isopropyl alcohol. I used water here only as a control substance because I've never soaked resin in water for more than 20 minutes or so and I wanted to have something to compare to wet-texture wise when I pulled the other pieces out of the solvents.
Yes, I've seen it melt plastic before, but according to everything I've read that's what people say it does to resin BJDs as well, hence the experiment. :)
I dont think this experiment is very realistic. You would have to wash the solvent off then let it dry and repeat. But great try. I appreciate the info.
this is so helpful and very comforting to a beginner like me who's never actually tried cleaning my doll's faceup off before! i've been very paranoid about accidentally ruining or damaging my baby, but this helps soothe my fears! thank you!!
Ah, that's exactly what I was hoping to achieve. ^^ Thank you so much!
interesting, i think acetone is the best option, lets remember that acetone evaporates super fast so even if you dont rinse the acetone it wont do anything to the doll cause in 1 minute or so it will be evaporated, and i think is the best option cause it gets the job done in an efective and quick way and no one is going to soak their doll on acetone like in the video, it would be more interesting if you painted a little "faceup" in the donuts so we can se how quickly is out of the resin, i wonder if water really takes out the faceup.
basically, as long as you take the safety measures, it's not a problem to use any of these solvents in dolls. I personally use acrylic thinner because it's faster to work with and I can get those really stubborn stains out easier. Also acetone is almost impossible to find here because it's used to dilute cocaine it seems x.x but yeah... being aware of the time of exposure and always rinsing it off thoroughly, you'll be safe :3 thanks for the experiment!
This is really interesting! I use rubbing alcohol to wipe off faceups, but it's good to know the brush cleaner is fairly safe for my purposes when I do need to use it.
Thank you for making this video! It was very informative! Now I don't have to panic whenever I clean off faceups with brush cleaner~
There is safe nail polish remover without acetone (good for dolls like pullips so far, not sure for all dolls, opinions are biased but I think Pullips are so frail, it's hard to make several attempts at face ups without ruining the doll!) and sometimes they make me less sick and dizzy to the scent lol. Definitely my favourite but not all of them are great. I think the best think to always do first is testing on a part you cannot see on the head once the doll is finished (the back).
That's a good recommendation! I have chemical sensitivities too so I have to be very careful about what I use on my dolls :) I will have to see if I can find some acetone free nail polish remover to experiment with.
I work with epoxy resin a lot and have cleaned up a lot of mistakes of cured resin. While acetone doesn't "melt" resin per se, it breaks it down more or less. I've cleaned out old nail polish bottles that I've filled with resin, with acetone. It becomes brittle and flakes away. Just like you see in this video.
Great experiment! Thank you so much fir this information ❤️❤️❤️
Would you consider doing something like this again but with isopropyl alcohol?
Yup! I had wanted to include it this time originally, but I could only find 3 small clear containers. I'll be doing at least one more round with a few more solvents.
Amazing! Thank you so much for the comparison, it's very helpful. Another thing I hear a lot is that coloured nail polish removers like the pink or light blue ones will stain your doll.. is that something you would consider testing as well?
Certainly! I'll add it to my list of solvents to test. :)
I used a purple one on one of my dolls and it stained like no other. I had to buff the stain off, but it's okay, it was only a resinsoul
Yup, colored nail polish do make ur doll stain.
My boy head becomes a bit blue because the nail polish is blue.
ive been in the hobby since 2006 and had it drilled into my head NEVER EVER to use Acetone on resin. Its not that it melts per say like with other hard plastics but it CAN make it more brittle over time with repeated use
Yes, I've heard that as well. I've been in the community since 2008 and one of my goals is to challenge hobby misconceptions and myths, as well as provide detailed information about why we do the things we do and use the materials we choose. "Never use oil-based anything on dolls" is another one I heard a lot, but in the past year I was able to dip into that issue to explain what the risks actually were, and when you might WANT to use them. Like acetone, when correctly used, oils are not damaging. My dolls that were damaged from faceup removal were damaged with 91% rubbing alcohol, not acetone. The important part of this experiment was learning what damage looks like, so you know what to watch for to see if a doll isn't tolerating a cleaner well. Some dolls are melted or damaged by Winsor & Newton brush cleaner, too. 😱
I usually use Windsor and Newton brush cleaner as much as possible then finish off the job with nail polish remover. But after like 5 minutes of use I wash the dolls head and continue with removing. Never had any problems. But I have mostly fairyland dolls. So maybe That’s why.
the only untested variable is scrubbing with acetone. that products the hour results VERY quickly
I have never had that experience when scrubbing with acetone... I even have a video up where I use it to remove a faceup with no problems and I was scrubbing quite hard. But that will vary by resin quality and length of exposure as well so nothing I do will ever replicate all possibilities. There are just too many companies with different qualities of resin. :)
Same here, I've never had issues with "scrubbing" with acetone either, and I used to be a professional faceup artist lol
Is the brush cleaner safe for vinyl dolls as well?
No, I don't recommend the brush cleaner for vinyl, as the conditioner chemicals in it that protect harder plastics like resin can cause the plasticizers in vinyl to leach, causing them to turn sticky with time. Acetone is the best option for vinyl dolls. Vinyl can be exposed to acetone for hours before it will show signs of exposure, and then all that happens is the vinyl will shrink :)
You can take facup off with water right?
DynamicQueen no you can't, you need brush cleaner or acetone
Antonia is correct, water will not budge a faceup on its own. You have to use a solvent like acetone, brush cleaner, or isopropyl alcohol. I used water here only as a control substance because I've never soaked resin in water for more than 20 minutes or so and I wanted to have something to compare to wet-texture wise when I pulled the other pieces out of the solvents.
Lomi's Playground ahh I see. Also how porous is bjd resin do you think?
Acetone melts plastic.
Yes, I've seen it melt plastic before, but according to everything I've read that's what people say it does to resin BJDs as well, hence the experiment. :)
I dont think this experiment is very realistic. You would have to wash the solvent off then let it dry and repeat. But great try. I appreciate the info.