Sometimes your Old LPS or your dolls get dirty, and the plastic can stubbornly hold onto stains and dirt. But fear not, as cleaning them can be really easy and not at all harmful to the pets. Here is some ways to clean and disinfect your old LPS or new additions from Ebay that definitely need some love.
What you will need
How to make your LPS Clean if They are From Goodwill With No Marks
If you stumble across pets at an eBay auction or in a goodwill, your first priority should be to make them clean. Start by spraying them with rubbing alcohol and letting them be sanitized. Set them aside and let them dry out.
How to Pull Flat Out Dirt from Old LPS
If your LPS are just a little dirty, as in generally discolored, use some Gojo and a toothbrush and scrub the soap into the plastic. Rinse it off quickly and try to keep the water out of the head of the LPS. Only submerge the LPS in water if you don’t care about it or it’s really really gross.
How to Remove Rust Rings to Make your LPS Clean
If your LPS have been in water and developed rust rings on the plastic necks of the LPS, it should be removed to make the pet look more new. Use makeup remover on a Q-tip and gently rub away the rust marks. This also works on some kinds of dirt staining your pet.
What to do About Marker marks on the LPS
Depending on the kind of markers used, your pet may just be ruined. Try rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip first and see if it will come off. If that doesn’t work, try baking soda and cooking oil and letting it sit for a bit. Otherwise, scrap the pet to be repainted over later or throw it away.
How to Mend Broken Limbs and Bite Marks on your LPS
Hot glue is a wonderful thing. Not only can it stick things together, it also melts plastic as well as being plastic itself. This means it can be used to reattach limbs, fill in bite marks, or even sculpt new parts. I also use it with press and seal to make little accessories and headgear for my pets.
What to do When Nothing Else Works to Make your Old LPS Clean
If nothing is helping your pets, try using something very harsh, like acetone. Be careful when using acetone, as it can destroy their paint easily. Dip a Q-Tip in acetone and rub away the dirt on the unpainted plastic. This can also melt the paint off if there is paint on parts of the pet that there shouldn’t be from the factory.
What to do With Pets that are Entirely Hopeless
Alright, so you have cleaned all of your pets up as much as possible but despite your best efforts, some pets still are too far beyond your help. Don’t throw them away yet, these pets are great for customizing and shaping into what you want them to be. You can add air dry clay to them for ear shaping, tail shaping, or reforming the face. Sometimes just a fresh coat of paint is good enough to get your pets back into their former glory. Make sure to seal your acrylic with a good clear nail polish or clear coat to prevent scrapes and scratches. I like to use Ceramcoat as a base, and water down the colors slightly to avoid brush strokes. It takes more layers, but it is so worth it in the end. Good luck and Happy Crafting!
