Treating Various Diseases and Disorders

• Ashen Plastic
• Frozen Hip Joints
• Green Hairlines/Green Knees
• Ink Spots on Soft Vinyl
• Mold and Fungus

Ashen Plastic

Dana offers this tip for treating the "ashen plastic" disease you find on some Dale bodies:

I had great luck rubbing baby oil on her torso. I had to do it a few times to get it to look good.

Frozen Hip Joints

Dolls that have oozed glue from their hip joints can sometimes become frozen in the standing position. I've had luck unfreezing some of these dolls.

First, if her panties or other clothes have become fused to her body, I carefully work those free. You might have to use the edge of a blade in some nasty glue cases, but just be sure to always brace her body as you tug.

Once she's naked, I carefully work one leg back and forth (being sure to brace the rest of the body) to get it free of the solidified glue. You have to be firm yet gentle, and only do this is you're okay with possible disaster! (So far, I've always had it work, but I make no promises.) Work one leg, then the other.

Once her legs are moving okay, I take a sharp utility knife (like an X-Acto blade) and carefully run it around the edges of her bottom, near her leg, to cut off the glue that has leaked out and solidified. This is not a time to anthropomorphize! Be gentle and go slowly, because you just want to remove any glue that will get in the way of leg movements and clothing.

When you're done, she'll be ready to slip into one of those hot little numbers in her closet...just save Beach Bikini Bunny for another doll.

Green Hairlines/Green Knees

Some people swear by Remove-Zit (a Twin Pines of Maine product) for removing green ear from B*rbie dolls, but I don't know that any Dawn collectors have had success using the product on green knees or hairlines. Part of the problem is that the copper wire that causes the green (when it reacts with the vinyl body) is still in the doll, and so the plastic can't be isolated.

If you want to try Remove-Zit anyway, be aware that it takes a long time to work...you apply it to the doll, expose the doll to sunlight, remove the film that forms, and then do it again. Over and over. Let me know if you have success.

Ink Marks on Soft Vinyl

Remove-Zit, in repeated applications, works well to remove ink and other seemingly permanent marks from faces and legs of dolls. You can also try Oxy-10 cream (if you don't want to buy Remove-Zit) and use the same application method.

Mold and Fungus

Twin Pines' Formula 911 has worked great for me with removing most cases of mold and fungus from dolls. However, I have encountered some Gary dolls that have a mold-like appearance on their legs, and I can't get that off. I don't know if the mold has incorporated itself into the vinyl of the legs or if it is something else entirely.

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