TPE peeling and shedding on fingers

Netherous · Post by **Netherous** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 9:39 pm

I have a < 6 month old TPE doll that I've been thoroughly enjoying, but something seems to be happening to her fingers on both hands.

http://imgur.com/a/fYoJP

The TPE is beginning to peel away all on its own. I'm not doing anything to her hands at all and try to keep them from contacting anything since her fingernails keep coming off. I'm a bit worried that the TPE will continue to degrade until the wires are exposed. Both hands already have had the wires poke out of the ends of the fingers, and the fingers themselves are chubbing up and gaining a permanent rotation to them that verges on looking deformed.

Any idea what's happening here? Is it mold?

Post by **Slew** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:08 pm

Welcome to TDF Netherous.

Yeah, that doesn't look good. If you have taken care of her as you indicated, then there wouldn't be any cause for mold, right? I mean, you haven't exposed her hands to lots of water repeatedly, without drying them off. So it can't be mold. This seems like cheap TPE is my best guess and that's just dirt on the accumulating peels of rubber. I've seen rubber peel and the little scrap hanging there always look dirty.

Is this happening anywhere else on the body?

Netherous · Post by **Netherous** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:19 am

Seattle Slew wrote:Welcome to TDF Netherous.

Yeah, that doesn't look good. If you have taken care of her as you indicated, then there wouldn't be any cause for mold, right? I mean, you haven't exposed her hands to lots of water repeatedly, without drying them off. So it can't be mold. This seems like cheap TPE is my best guess and that's just dirt on the accumulating peels of rubber. I've seen rubber peel and the little scrap hanging there always look dirty.

Is this happening anywhere else on the body?

Yeah, I'm fairly certain now that it's not mold, after seeing pictures others have posted. No water or lube or anything else on her hands. This isn't happening in a major way elsewhere, only on the extremities of the fingers. Some minor peels have developed around her private areas, but nothing like this. I'm not sure who the vendor is - I got it from aliexpress so it might be a cheap knockoff.

I can trim the peels with a knife or razorblade but I'm afraid this will just keep happening.

Post by **Slew** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:36 am

Yep, Aliexpress is notorious around here. I'm sure you got a knock-off, as peeling like that shouldn't happen so soon if at all. My TPE doll's hands are in perfect condition after over two years. I'd say you can probably gently peel off the most obvious dangling scraps, and just try not to keep peeling. At least you've found us here. We'll help you get a nice new authentic doll when the time is right.

Mark Spencer · Post by **Mark Spencer** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:46 am

do they blow mold a skin and then pour? That looks like it is de-laminating.

Post by **Sexy Sex Doll** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:56 am

hey which brand and where did you buy her?

CF · Post by CF » Mon Jul 03, 2017 12:58 am

Sorry to see this. As has been stated, Aliexpress is notorious for people selling knockoff dolls. It appears that is what happened here.

Could you put some gloves on her hand? That might prevent future wear and tear while offering a cool sense of fashion style. Just reaching for ideas. Good luck!

Indigo20 · Post by **Indigo20** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 5:42 pm

@ Netherous:

The situation:

- Dry TPE > TPE peeling
- Dust & dirt inside the porous TPE structure and the skin pieces

Necessary material for cleaning & repair:

- Baby oil containing mineral oil
(if you do not know about the care of TPE dolls with mineral oil products, please look here: http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=227&t=77364)
- Q tips
- small and sharp finger nail scissors

Step 1: Cleaning

For showing that I'm using a finger of an old and dirty TPE test hand.

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Hold the finger at the back end (see my white gloves).
Therewith you are keeping the finger in position and the wire inside can not be kinked.
Apply the baby oil and wipe with the Q tip in direction of the finger tip.

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As you can see, the baby oil removes dust & dirt out of the porous TPE surface.
You are collecting the dirt at the finger tip.
Remove that.

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Netherous, what I've seen on your picture, believe me, you will need 20 minutes for each single finger.

Step 2: Removing the peeled skin pieces

Use the small and sharp finger nail scissors and cut away the skin pieces.

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Do that very carefully.
Do not do deep cuts and do not lift skin pieces with a tweezers, because therewith you are producing small holes.
Remove only that what is visible.
Wipe with your finger over the doll finger, because therewith the smaller skin pieces are standing up.

Step 3: Post-Processing - Care & mineral oil saturation

Use the baby oil and apply it thinly on both doll hands.
The baby oil takes about 60 minutes for the absorption.
I recommend to do a minimum of 5 treatments.
That stops the peeling.
It can happen that you see here and there small skin pieces that you have not removed.
Remove it carefully, as described.

Procrasturbate · Post by **Procrasturbate** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:15 pm

i had a tpe ass/hips toy do this to me when i bought the wrong lube, it was petroleum based damn thing peeled for the remainder of owning it. Looks like Indy helped you though.

amytyl · Post by **amytyl** » Wed Jul 05, 2017 2:41 pm

Thank you Indigo! You're the best!

Netherous · Post by **Netherous** » Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:28 am

Thanks for the help guys. I followed Indigo's advice to try to clean up the hands, with moderate success. They're definitely cleaner now, but the multiple divots and tears that have developed on the surfaces of the fingers over the short time I've had her are still pretty worrisome.

Before:

http://imgur.com/EAkKd8G

After:

http://imgur.com/wQH9MzJ

There are some tears that lead to chunks I dare not cut off:

http://imgur.com/f98fQtt

The other hand is in only slightly better shape. I cleaned it too. You can see how the fingers are rotating and deforming. Aside from the wires poking out the ends of the fingers, they really feel...off inside, as in difficult to maneuver and position. I think the wires in the fingers have come detached from the hand, if they were ever attached in the first place, and their former flexibility seems to be gone.

http://imgur.com/BHRPsXh

Anyway, I wanted to treat the little tears with TPE glue. I had some that I bought from 1amdoll (iamdollusa.com) to try to treat her elbow, which has broken open completely.

http://imgur.com/auLrzTC

but when I went to get it, I found that the solvent had completely dried out in its sealed vial and was utterly gone. It had only used a tiny bit on her elbow exactly as their videos showed but it really didn't help. I don't want to spend another $18 for some solvent that won't help and dries up after one use. Is there better solvent or a cheaper source of solvent out there?

Mark Spencer · Post by **Mark Spencer** » Sat Jul 08, 2017 1:54 am

Yeah.. I wouldn't do any cutting. Those scissors are much too big for what you want here.
And those fingers.. if they were detached, they'd go back to the position they were molded
in, so I don't think that's it. They could be kinked or twisted inside, but I don't think they're
detached.

I've heard people recommend Loctite 404, but I havent' found it locally.
And that would be used (I think) after the surface prep/primer. I forget what that
number is, but I'm sure if you search for the 404 you'll see it mentioned.

I know it looks disheartening, but it's still repairable..

Starquake · Post by **Starquake** » Sat Jul 08, 2017 6:13 am

You want 1 of Indigo20's repair kits for the elbow in my opinion.
Technically he does not support fakes but I can confirm his kit worked perfectly for a very similar wound on my fake doll's elbow.
I think it's a little more volatile working with fake doll tpe than if it were a genuine Jinsan doll (due to the differences between the 2 different tpe formulas)

You may be able to push the finger wires back into the tube wires in the back of the hand if they have come out and not snapped. You should be able to tell if they've snapped by feeling around the ends of the tube wires.

Netherous · Post by **Netherous** » Sun Jul 09, 2017 4:19 pm

Starquake wrote:You want 1 of Indigo20's repair kits for the elbow in my opinion.
Technically he does not support fakes but I can confirm his kit worked perfectly for a very similar wound on my fake doll's elbow.
I think it's a little more volatile working with fake doll tpe than if it were a genuine Jinsan doll (due to the differences between the 2 different tpe formulas)

You may be able to push the finger wires back into the tube wires in the back of the hand if they have come out and not snapped. You should be able to tell if they've snapped by feeling around the ends of the tube wires.

Is that this?

http://us.dollstudio.org/products/acces ... repair-kit

It looks comprehensive but it's got a hefty price tag. I'm not sure where to begin with such a kit. The solvent I had was just one fluid. How should I store TPE solvent so it doesn't dry out? It was in the vial it came with with the cap screwed on tight.

Starquake · Post by **Starquake** » Mon Jul 10, 2017 6:20 am

Yes that's the kit

Worth every penny in my opinion.

As above, Indigo20 provides full comprehensive step by step instructions showing how to use his products that you can find here on the forums and on the dollstudio site.
In layman's terms he's made a mix of tpe material and solvent that is carefully balanced for repairing tpe and also includes different strength solvents and extra tpe material in the kit that enable you to do a wide array of invisible seamless repairs.

To be fair, you can use paste or glue or heat to do that repair too but Indigo20's kit makes it far easier and safer to achieve an invisible seamless finish in my opinion.

For storage, make sure the lids are on properly and store in a cool, dark place out of the way.
I can't say for certain what's happened to yours but I suspect it's reacted with the air, which surprises me tbh as I received a dribble of glue in a jar far too big for just a dribble from a vendor here on tdf (I won't name them as he's promised to look after me) that I've opened a few times and still have a fraction of the original dribble in liquid form ready to melt big scary holes in the tpe with