The Doll Forum

RGC_0767 wrote:

More-Time.jpg

Just goes to show, if willing to devote more time to a job, can get it better.
A bit of low heat. I used 120c, a ball sculptor, and mineral oil baths on TPE and ball, and have been able to smooth it more. Keeping areas as clean as possible is key. Damn cat!! hair!! LOL lint. flakes of whatever.. dust magnet dolly!
Getting yourself in a comfortable position is helpful too.

mala78 wrote:

RGC_0767 wrote:

More-Time.jpg

Just goes to show, if willing to devote more time to a job, can get it better.
A bit of low heat. I used 120c, a ball sculptor, and mineral oil baths on TPE and ball, and have been able to smooth it more. Keeping areas as clean as possible is key. Damn cat!! hair!! LOL lint. flakes of whatever.. dust magnet dolly!
Getting yourself in a comfortable position is helpful too.

Great work RGC.

This week i am expecting my station to be delivered.

mala78 wrote:I ve received the station today , it was shipped from Germany.

Both air gun and iron are starting from 100c which is great.

I like the tube of the air gun, it is very flexible although it is a bit thick.

Can't wait to try it.

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:I ve received the station today , it was shipped from Germany.

Both air gun and iron are starting from 100c which is great.

I like the tube of the air gun, it is very flexible although it is a bit thick.

Can't wait to try it.

Nice unit. The tip there looks like it'll be nice for tight areas too. Can always fabricate your own tips too.
Take your time with it. Some jobs will need iron, and some with air.
I've mostly been using ball tools with very light brushing to smooth.
Dolly Sculpting!!
All the best on the quest!!

mala78 wrote:

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:I ve received the station today , it was shipped from Germany.

Both air gun and iron are starting from 100c which is great.

I like the tube of the air gun, it is very flexible although it is a bit thick.

Can't wait to try it.

Nice unit. The tip there looks like it'll be nice for tight areas too. Can always fabricate your own tips too.
Take your time with it. Some jobs will need iron, and some with air.
I've mostly been using ball tools with very light brushing to smooth.
Dolly Sculpting!!
All the best on the quest!!

The unit came with 4 nozzles for the gun and 5 tips for the iron.

but i have also bought 5 extra nozzles for 3.5$ to have more choices

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-Soldering ... 2749.l2649

mala78 wrote:Great.
I ve received the sculpting set today and waiting for the blue ball set.

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:Great.
I ve received the sculpting set today and waiting for the blue ball set.

Looks like the same set I bought. One of them little hooks burned a hole in her. Of course it was before the hot air station, and I am guilty for trying flame heat.
A little snip of TPE from her neck, and was able to blend it in to the hole. with hot air, and the smallest ball
The quality of those are so-so. If you bought the same blue handle balls I bought, they are good quality for the price. The biggest ball is heavy.
With a touch of mineral oil and very light touch with ball, works quite well.
Can never have enough tools
I also discovered that the soldering iron with the station I bought, lowest temp in 200c LOL darn!! Yet to use it with TPE.
You did good with your buy!

mala78 wrote:

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:Great.
I ve received the sculpting set today and waiting for the blue ball set.

Looks like the same set I bought. One of them little hooks burned a hole in her. Of course it was before the hot air station, and I am guilty for trying flame heat.
A little snip of TPE from her neck, and was able to blend it in to the hole. with hot air, and the smallest ball
The quality of those are so-so. If you bought the same blue handle balls I bought, they are good quality for the price. The biggest ball is heavy.
With a touch of mineral oil and very light touch with ball, works quite well.
Can never have enough tools
I also discovered that the soldering iron with the station I bought, lowest temp in 200c LOL darn!! Yet to use it with TPE.
You did good with your buy!

You were right once more.
Those little brown hooks are total garbage.They might be perfect for other use but for repairing tpe skin are waste of money.
Can't wait to receive the blue ball set now.

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:

RGC_0767 wrote:

mala78 wrote:Great.
I ve received the sculpting set today and waiting for the blue ball set.

Looks like the same set I bought. One of them little hooks burned a hole in her. Of course it was before the hot air station, and I am guilty for trying flame heat.
A little snip of TPE from her neck, and was able to blend it in to the hole. with hot air, and the smallest ball
The quality of those are so-so. If you bought the same blue handle balls I bought, they are good quality for the price. The biggest ball is heavy.
With a touch of mineral oil and very light touch with ball, works quite well.
Can never have enough tools
I also discovered that the soldering iron with the station I bought, lowest temp in 200c LOL darn!! Yet to use it with TPE.
You did good with your buy!

You were right once more.
Those little brown hooks are total garbage.They might be perfect for other use but for repairing tpe skin are waste of money.
Can't wait to receive the blue ball set now.

If you need to nudge a small area of molten TPE, one of them will come in handy. Tools like those need a delicate touch with TPE. They're more for working with clay I suppose. It's all about finding what works, and what does not. Hopefully Dolly does not get hurt in process.
Take Anung's advice, he says he does not always touch the TPE when working with it. Jedi Masters!! Hmmmphhhh But he is right, very delicate much of the time.
Have you tried it?

mala78 wrote:
yeah i ve tried the station on a tpe test piece.
It is really a great piece of equipment.Worth every penny,
I wish i hadn't spent my money on useless repairing kits and glues.

I am also looking to buy a bottle of mineral oil.
Is this ok for TPE ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/White-Mineral- ... Sw9uFW9mSh

Anung Un Rama wrote:

RGC_0767 wrote:

Anung Un Rama wrote:I am with Indigo here, this is what I do, and I use the tools to sculpt the semi molten tpe accordingly, but you need a very light touch and the oil is important less the tool bites and grabs the tpe causing more work to repair. (so again practice on test pieces to master the touch and oil application technique).

The other trick is feathering the heat form the gun to ensure even heat transfer as well, and as shot does suggests, a digital laser thermometer is great if you got an extra set of hands.

I discuss the heat repair technique here https://www.dollforum.com/forum/viewtop ... 9#p1279899 and elaborate further in a few posts after that one.

Anung

Yes, it was a post you did a while back, I copied and pasted that to a text file. It's easy to get info mixed up on forums this size That is sort of what goes with this doll. It grabs the TPE in tiny little blots. That temp is the key there. I'd rather be cautious than jump in like a fool
That's the difference between my test TPE and this doll. The test TPE is so easy to work with, this doll is more stubborn. WoW the doll and I have something in common. Stubbornness

That's is due to the fact that the dolly is far larger and has far more material for thermal conduction than a tpe test piece, thus her body mass forms a heat sink, hence we hot gun feather back and forth to normalise the higher temp over a greater area and mass.

So why use a test piece at all then?

Sure, it is about the repairer getting to know how the tpe reacts, and gaining experience of what the matrial does in it solid, semi molten and molten forms, as well as training the repairer to master the amount and type of required touch and pressure required, without catastrophic blunders on their valuable dolly.

the proceedure is the same for both, just slower and more hands on with heat regulation with the heat gun for dolly.

Anung