Dye Fixatives (any good?)

[Kaori]

Calling all chemistry boffs

1. What's the best way to test whether fabric dye is fixed in a garment or wig cap before doing anything with it? ie washing it or wearing it against TPE (for more than a few hours at a time)
... for example a quick dab test with blotter paper soaked in alcohol (not a real test but for example something I can do to quickly check whether a new item needs treating)

2. if during the above test its found that the dye is not fixed then how to fix it?
... shopping around I see there's quite a selection of dye fixatives on the market but I've never tried any myself. Are they any good?

3. Why does TPE appear to easily absorb the dye in the first place, and how to mitigate that.

Search Keywords: color colour stains clothing wig

[Siliconeman]

Hi!

1. I would suggest to test the garment with baby oil (Paraffium liquidum). Rub the garment with a drop of oil, if oil removes dye then the garment is not safe for a TPE doll.

2. I would like to hear answer to this one as well

3. My theory is that oils within TPE dissolve die at the fabric. That is why the oil itself can be used for testing if the material is doll-safe.

[Starquake]

Buy an insert made from the same tpe as your doll
Wash new clothes until the water runs clear.
Wrap the insert in new clothing and place a book or something on top of the insert wrapped in the garment to create a small amount of pressure and ensure the garment is in contact with the tpe
Check periodically over the 1st 24hrs then daily for the next week.

If no good, then go back to washing and using stain removers ..... and be happy that it's only stained a £10 insert

[SinsuaLuvr]

Prewash everything that may contact your dolls skin.
Layering clothing or hosiery certainly can help avoid stains and make dressing easier! However to avoid color transfer and staining, prewash ANY article of clothing prior to use. A couple machine washings on delicate cycle (in a lingerie mesh bag) usually will "color lock" lingerie and clothing articles. When washing, keep vibrant color items separate from lights and whites.

Hand washing is also works really well. Keep soaking clothing (in in a sink with water and woolite or a delicates detergent) and gently wringing, rinse and repeat until water is clear.

Sheer hosiery (pantyhose, stockings, tights or body stockings) act as a good doll skin protective layer. You will need to prewash any bright or dark colored nylons too or you will have the same problem! Fishnets do not offer any protection and are notoriously hard to get to color lock.

[Keyman]

Where are the chemists? A genius to figure out the (electron/chemical?) reaction of the dye/tpe transfer process? I failed chemistry in HS!..hah.

Has anyone actually tried spraying that Scotchguard on clothes and to what result?

[Kaori]

So I did a handful of tests using cotton buds with baby oil and isopropanol alcohol 99%. Two fabrics known to bleed into TPE and two that don't.
Baby oil did nothing whilst alcohol identified correctly the two that bleed.

All I did was soak the cotton bud in oil / alcohol and then agitate the bud against a small section of the fabric to allow the liquid to soak into the fabric to release and transfer the dye into cotton.
As the cotton is pure white it's quite easy to see very small amounts of dye transfer.
The longer the agitation, the more the transfer.

I don't know why baby oil didn't work as effective as alcohol, but there we go.
As alcohol evaporates there wasn't any marks left on the garment at the test site, unlike with oil.

So my initial small sample size suggests that an alcohol solvent may be useful in QUICKLY identifying garments that require a fixative solution before use on TPE. Where as other garments can be washed as usual.

Part two of this post, I have a fixative on order, when it arrives I will try it and report back.