Dyeing to be Black - Part 6 Finale

Completed ladies:  Babette by EG, unmarked clone, Davtex clone, Twistee Totsy, and 35th Anniversary Barbie

As shown above, the dyeing, painting, extra detailing, and dressing of all dolls has been completed.

Babette is dressed in the 1965 Barbie fashion #1631 Aboard Ship.  Here, she wears it without the jacket.

Preferring to wear it with the sleeveless jacket, Babette took another photo.  The fashion came with a camera, which is stored.  The fashion is missing these three travel brochures.

The unmarked, bubble cut clone is dressed in the reproduction Barbie Poodle Parade fashion.  (She's missing her poodle and the original olive green shoes, which had been substituted for white pumps in the above photo.)  I thought olive green shoes would look better.  So....

...after mixing acrylic paints (black, yellow, and a dab of white), I created olive green paint and painted the white pumps the desired color, as shown above.

Yes, the Poodle Parade fashion looks much better with shoes dyed (I mean painted) to match.

Recall that the above two clones use the two newer Barbie bodies that I dyed.  Until I find a body for the Davtex clone, I am using a So in Style Chandra body, which was the closest complexion match I had on hand for her.

Davtex clone head on So in Style Chandra body and custom dressed

The Davtex doll wears a two-piece purple, So In Style Club-exclusive silk shantung fashion by doll fashion designer, MashauDe'.  It is tailored to fit the S.I.S. doll hips. I think Chandra might have a difficult time getting her body and fashion back.  I made Ms. Davtex a pearl necklace and matching bracelet to somewhat match her original teardrop-shaped pearl earrings.

After being redressed, Twistee Totsy was returned to the confines of her original box.  She is giving some serious side-eye as a result.

Likewise, 35th Anniversary Barbie returned to her box. 

Joe and Adam took final photos together.

I consider my first attempt at using iDye Poly to deepen the complexion of dolls a relative success. The complexions did deepen, although I was not prepared for the extra detailing required on the parts that did not absorb the dye.

Here are some tips for those who might want to try this:

• For your first attempt, use inexpensive vinyl/hard plastic dolls, such as thrift store finds. 
• Do apply the dye powder and enhancement packet to boiled water and stir well.  If you want to achieve a lighter brown, allow the water to cool some before adding the dolls.  The water still needs to be relatively warm for the vinyl/hard plastic to absorb the dye.  I believe the hottest water achieves the darkest results. The water was warm when 35th Anniversary Barbie was dipped.  As a result, her complexion did not deepen as much as the rest.  (According to the iDye Poly instructions, dyeing for clothes is supposed to be done on the stovetop in a pot of boiled water.  I did not have an old pot to use and thought my alternate method would work just as well, besides I was dyeing dolls, not clothes.)
• It would be wonderful if iDye Poly was available in variations of brown or perhaps if colors could be mixed to blend a desired hue.
• Rit DyeMore can also be used for dyeing plastics.  Since it is liquid, colors can probably be blended to create desired complexions and/or hair colors.  (Here's a video of a troll toy being dyed with Rit DyeMore.)
• After dyeing, if you must paint any areas of the doll, a spray gun would work better. I do not own one.  If I had to do it over again, I would prime the painted areas first.  Because I did not prime, several layers of paint were required and the paint on the first several layers would easily chip.  It will still chip, but I am careful handling the painted areas of those dolls.
• For the final painted layers, I mixed matte varnish with the acrylic paint, which I should have done with all layers to eliminate some, if not all chipping.  
• Sealing painted areas is optional and probably best.  

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Dyeing to be Black Part 3 - Hair and Painting

Twistee Totsy's hair color fix

After assessing the initial results and what each doll would need, I worked on restyling the dolls' hair and painting those areas that required it.

Twistee Totsy's hair was pulled back into a ponytail.  The hair was darkened using a brown Sharpie marker as illustrated above.  Her soft-vinyl arms and head dyed well, but her gray-toned body required painting.  The Davtex head also required painting as did Adam's torso and neck.

All clones' hair has been combed and/or is in the process of being set.  One clone's head has been repainted as well as the Totsy body.  Adam's torso and neck have also been painted.  Several more layers of paint were required for all painted surfaces.

In the above photo, Babette's ponytail has been restyled with swirl bangs added.  The Davtex (splotchy-faced) doll's ponytail was restyled and repainting of her face has begun.  Both dolls' ponytails, from top to bottom, are held in place with several rubber bands.

After the dye bath, the unmarked  clone's original blonde bubble cut turned brunette with blonde highlights.

Upon removing her from the dye, the unmarked clone's hair was "all over her head."  I saturated the hair with mousse, brushed it down into a style, then wrapped the head with a ribbon that was taped into place, as seen above.   I left the ribbon in place for several days while I worked on other dolls.

 

After the Davtex doll's face was painted, mousse was applied to her bangs, which were then wrapped with a paper towel.  The paper towel was taped into place to allow the bangs to reset and remain flat (they, too, were sticking straight up after the dye bath and needed some serious retraining).

Completed heads:  Babette, unmarked former blonde bubble cut clone, and Davtex clone

In the photo above, the hair has been restyled on the clone heads, whites of the eyes repainted, the Davtex face repainted, and lip color freshened.  (While writing this post, I realized I did not repaint the Davtex doll's eyebrows when this photo was taken.  Yikes!)

The Davtex head now has painted eyebrows.  Black eyeliner has been painted on the lower eyes as it was originally.

Two clone heads have been placed onto the two Barbie bodies that were dyed a deeper color.

Babette and the unmarked clone use the dyed bodies.  The Davtex doll found another body later.   The arms of these more recent Mattel bodies, because they are made of different material than the bodies and legs, did not dye the same color as the other parts.  A remedy was found for this as well.

Unless they perm or "conk" it, Adam's original molded hair is not a style typically worn by African American males now or in the '70s era he represents.  I knew I would have to give him a new 'do.  I used my saved hair to create a rooted Afro. The beginning stages of that process are captured in the above image.  (I began by first gluing the hair to his head, but ended by rooting the rest with my rooting tool.)

The painting has been completed on Adam's eyes, torso, and neck.  Painting such tiny areas is tedious with a paint brush.  I use the tip of a toothpick or a straight pin, which is dipped into paint, then dabbed onto the desired area.  Rooting of Adam's Afro has been completed.  It was later trimmed with fingernail clippers.  Twistee Totsy's body has been painted and her head and arms placed onto it. At the time this photo was taken, her detailing was finished.  She just needed redressing.

Joe now has brown painted eyes.  After the areas of his joints and feet that did not dye were painted and sealed with matte varnish, I opted to paint his molded hair black.  The writing on his shirt was painted black and sealed.

35th Anniversary Barbie's hair only required replacement of the original rubber band, which had broken prior to the dye bath, and finger combing her bangs.   Her eyebrows were later repainted as well as the white area of her eyes.  Her complete detailing will be discussed in the next post.


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Dyeing to be Black Part 2 - Initial Results

Adam's body and head, two Barbie bodies, Twistee Totsy's body and her head after the dye bath

In the previous post, the initial phase of dyeing several white dolls black (or brown) using brown iDye Poly was shared.  This post will share the initial effects the dye bath had on each doll.


Adam:

Adam's neck and torso did not absorb the dye.  His lips and eyes retained their color.  His molded hair and complexion are now ebony.

Twistee Totsy's Hair Close-up:

Twistee's formerly light blonde hair is now a dishwater blonde color.  You'll see how this was corrected in a follow-up post.


Babette, the unmarked Barbie clone, and vintage Barbie clone by Davtex:

Babette and the unmarked clone now have Ebony complexions (see their before image here).  Babette's previous brunette hair with highlights is now a reddish-brown.  The formerly blonde bubble cut clone is now a brunette with gold highlights.  The Davtex doll's face would not absorb the dye, as illustrated above.  She was a "piece of work."

GI Joe:

Joe's eyes, hair, his facial scar, joints, and feet did not fully absorb the dye.  The writing on his shirt remained visible.  He required more time to complete as well.

35th Anniversary Barbie:

As illustrated in her initial after-dye photos, 35th Anniversary Barbie's eye and lip color were unaffected by the dye.  Her body, unfortunately, is much lighter than her face, arms, and legs.  The dye over-penetrated some areas on her chest and in small areas on one side of her face and upper arm.  How I was able to deepen her torso and mask the coloring imperfections will be shared in Friday's post.

******

Each doll required extra detailing beyond dyeing, some more than others.  I worked on more than one doll at a time and took pictures along the way.  If painting was being done, those dolls that needed it were painted.  If hair needed to be styled, that was done.   To keep the posts relatively brief, I had to make this a multi-part series.  Some posts, however, will focus more on some dolls than others.  

Part 3

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