I bought a 140 cm. doll last year. The wire armatures in the fingers have poked through several times. Also, one of the fingers has torn slightly. I noticed that several people have modified/ enhanced their dolls and also mention repairing the TPE of the dolls. I want to know which glue works the best for repairing the dolls?
I already managed to glue one of the eyelashes back on using a liquid cement for ABS plastic, but it doesn't seem to work on the finger. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations. The glue that I used is made by Plastruct, but I can only get the orange label of glue. I just want to keep my girl with ten fingers if at all possible. Thanks!
TPE repair glue can be bought at Walmart.com It's like $8.50 a bottle. It is very small like 80ml I think is the size of bottle. It even has a picture of a dressed adult doll on the product picture. here is a link that might work for you https://www.walmart.com/ip/TPE-Solvent-Glue-For-Silicone-Doll-Repair-TPE-Tear-Split-Glue-30ml-Bottle/1237748986
I have used Lock tite gel or liquid with great results. I would put a tiny amount usually with the tip of a toothpick and carefully wipe the inside layer of the piece i wanted to bond and then quickly press them together. clean seams with no residue or buildup. the key is using a very tiny amount. that’s why i found out a toothpick is best or you end up having crystalization of the surface and it looks like shit. It will bond the tpe without ruining it or melting it and it never will come apart at the point of seal.
You can use a low wattage soldering iron to melt the TPE back into place.
Hi I noticed some issues of weakening hand nails etc on a beginner doll for me, I no longer have the issue because when I mild soap them I leave the hands and feet toes
out of the soaping rinsing seems to help greatly just an idea. Superglue Tpe glue may
help in tiny amounts applied by toothpick.
Thanks for the advice. I'll have to see if I can get some of this glue to try it.
Sorry to hear about your dilemma, repairing TPE can be very challenging and it's half technical ability and half artistic ability in my opinion, I personally do not consider myself good at repairing TPE by any measure but I have done repairs before.
The product that I personally prefer is the the 3M one, just keep in mind that usually you want to use small amounts of any kind of glue or solvent you use since it can "melt" the TPE, it is very aggressive, but not impossible.
There is a post I made a while back call Last minute experiment were I made a cut on the TPE of a doll and glue it back, there are a few pictures there, in case you want to see them type the title on the forum search bar, I would also recommend to check out the information other members have posted about TPE repairs since there are members with a lot more skill and experience than me.
I used the product in the middle