some crack need advice

loyn · Post by **loyn** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:15 am

hello,

have a wm doll and i see 2 week ago some crack on the bottom of the neck, for repair this should i use heat gun method ?

(the doll have 9 month, and all is fine on it either this crack )

the doll be a long time standing don't know if the "why" .

: crack.png (4.31 MiB) Viewed 222 times

Canvas · Post by **Canvas** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:28 am

She is TPE correct?
Heat gun could work if so. I think I remember in Mishka's tutorial he fixed a similar tear on a dolls neck using the heat gun method. Definitely recommend checking those out before doing any surgery.
Might want to check out the hot spoon method too, works good for tears like this as well.

loyn · Post by **loyn** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:39 am

thanks,
yes it's TPE, i see Mishka's video just before ^^

Arthur1960 · Post by **Arthur1960** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:43 am

Hi there, what you have there is tpe separation that's usually associated with the material losing its oil so I'm surprised to see this in a 9 month old WM doll. Did you get her new or was she previously owned, if it's the latter then it's quite likely she would have benefited from an oiling although if new then that wouldn't normally be the case with a genuine WM doll, as a rule of thumb I don't even consider doing an oiling until 8 months have passed and usually wait another couple of months before doing the first one. As Doll Canvas said heat is probably the best way to go to fix this and I would recommend you do it with her laying down on her back with her head pushed forward. This will close the cracks up a bit and ensure you have a better repair otherwise you could just make the cracks bigger. Also if you are not familiar with using heat with tpe I would strongly encourage you to get a hot air rework station rather than a heat gun. They are a bit more expensive (but not much) and you can adjust the heat and air output so are less likely to make a mistake, aslo you should practice on some spare tpe first. Try and find the repair videos posted by Mishka as they are excellent. Good luck.

Arthur1960 · Post by **Arthur1960** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:48 am

It just occurred to me that you may live in a particularly warm environment? If so then your gal would also benefit from staying in the coolest part of your home and ensure she isn't subject to direct sunlight for prolonged periods. Here in the UK we are now into our summer with temperatures currently reaching 30c so I keep all my gals in the coolest rooms of my house with the curtains drawn a bit to ensure they are in shade, tpe can separate like that if left in temperatures over 30c, in direct sunlight and especially if left in a stressed condition, so make sure your gal is left in her neutral state, ie like she was when shipped.

loyn · Post by **loyn** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 8:15 am

thanks for all this information.

i go to search a hot air rework station, ( look great to not over heat), and did a oil treatment after for prevent futur issue.
( i buy it from factory so may be just bad luck or environemental condition as you said)
i'm in east of france, so sometime températur could be warm, i'll be carrefull about this point .

tanks.

Fallman68 · Post by **Fallman68** » Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:09 am

I would use hot spoon heated with butane torch heated to around 195 degrees measured with a ir thermometer. You oil the area well first, heat spoon with torch and gently glide spoon over area and it will smoke a little and melt the surface and smooth over the cracks. Practice on a piece of scrap tpe or cheap tpe toy first. Use caution Around neck cord on left side as you could flatten raised area . Mischcas videos are very good to learn repair techniques, good luck!