Collectors and sellers know that an old or antique doll, ready to be photographed with a fun dress, a brightly painted face and a neat haircut, will sell faster than with old-fashioned clothes, faded paint and obvious flaws. In order to sell their dolls faster, collectors wash or completely change their costume, restore lost parts and repaint their faces. But careless restoration can reduce the value of an antique toy. Therefore, you should approach the restoration of dolls with your own hands with great care.
How to restore an old toy yourself
When proceeding with restoration, try to perform only those actions that can then be undone. The most important principle of restoration is not to do anything irreversible for dolls with historical value. Restoring a doll means replacing missing parts, fixing or improving something. It includes cleaning dirty clothes, adding a broken finger, washing hair or adding a wig and repainting.
Preparing for work and cleaning toys
Do not eat or drink while working and repair dolls in places with proper ventilation. Some substances used to clean and restore dolls can produce harmful fumes. Hand wash plays a key role in the restoration of antique dolls. Many collectors want to buy such a toy in their original costume, or at least in a similar, but the same age.
A doll with shabby clothes cannot cost more than in a new one. Therefore, before selling all the details of the costume of the toy, they must be washed manually using gentle detergents. Clean and wash your antique items carefully. Even cleaning with the wrong soap or chemical can dissolve paint, weaken old glue, or ruin your eyes and hair. Most often, a building hair dryer is used to remove old paint and glue, and the cracks are filled with special mass for modeling or papier-mâché.
Restoration of unglazed porcelain dolls
Biscuit or unglazed porcelain dolls were new in the late 1860s. Until that time, all the toys were with a glossy surface, or glaze, and a new version of their manufacture allowed to obtain a more realistic skin tone. Such dolls first had leather or fabric bodies, then they began to use composite materials.
Restoration means returning the doll to its original state, including wigs and hair styling, clothing and facial features. A toy that is over 100 years old is often very worn out. For example, an artificial wig may already fall apart. But wigs for dolls made of human hair may need to be washed and restored. Composite fibers can disintegrate when touched. For the restoration of old dolls with their own hair, they use special kits and spare parts, for example, eyes, which are sold in specialized stores. Sometimes it is impossible to restore the hair, so you may need wigs. Some problems on the surface of the toy are clearly visible, while others are hidden inside the clothes or body, especially if the doll is stuffed with straw or other organic material.
Recover Lost Parts
The missing parts can be restored using a special sculptural mass. After the details are modeled, they can be painted in accordance with the background. Often, for the restoration of dolls, do-it-yourself dolls use casts from those parts of the product that have not been lost. For example, to restore fingers on one hand, you can make an impression with the other. This allows you to make the missing items. They turn out identical to the lost.
Saving Antique Toys
Try to save the old doll before deciding to restore it. Preservation of the doll is to combat the destructive forces of temperature, light, insects, dirt, dust and time. Such work includes treating insect infestation, reinstalling eyes that fall out, and proper care of the costume. When in contact with a valuable toy, it is advisable to use gloves. This is important because dirty hands can leave marks on the doll. Another reason for using gloves when working with dolls is your own protection against unknown substances, such as pesticides that may be on unfamiliar toys.
Natural light can cause huge problems for antique dolls. For example, quick fading of suits or fading of skin tones on plastic products. Therefore, do not leave them in the light. It is also important to know that wood contains an acid called lignin. If you put the toy on a wooden shelf, the fabric of the dress or the dolls themselves may change color to brown. Therefore, on the shelves of wood, litter is definitely needed. If you store such a product correctly, this will help to preserve the antique toy for the next generation. Then restoration of dolls is not required.