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So, I found out that food powder colors are very effective for dyeing TPE and also totally water resistant if heat sealed proper. Oil however will suck it up and dissolve the binding, so it can be taken off again. Therefore semi-permanent, but pretty well permanent if no oiling. At the end of the video, I demonstrate the resistance to water and soap thoroughly.

The brands used here are 'Roxy & Rich' and 'Squires Kitchen'. Oil based for fat solution. Water based will not work!

Watch my video (https://vimeo.com/498497893):



Photos:

This is an amazing discovery! Great job!

What temperature setting did you use on the heat gun? I am worried the TPE might deform if the heat gun is set too high.

Thank you for this! This is exactly what I've been looking for. There is a shockingly few tutorials for nipple recoloring, especially considering this is a problem we all run into sooner or later.

I assume you mixed the coloring with mineral oil? Is that correct?

Really impressive again!

Is this the same girl who had the hollow surgery?

Her nickname will become the "lab doll".

Well done! Godt klaret!

melenerj wrote:This is an amazing discovery! Great job!

What temperature setting did you use on the heat gun? I am worried the TPE might deform if the heat gun is set too high.

Thank you! I'm not sure exactly what the temperature is, but the heat gun is set on 2,5 on a scale from 1-6 and it goes from 50-600° degrees Celsius. So the blow probably hits the TPE with around 100° degrees Celsius. So yeah, don't get it too hot! Also, if you heat for too long cracking will occur (I got that on my testing pieces).
Btw, the heat gun was $45 USD on sale.

Justinpassinthru wrote:Thank you for this! This is exactly what I've been looking for. There is a shockingly few tutorials for nipple recoloring, especially considering this is a problem we all run into sooner or later.

I assume you mixed the coloring with mineral oil? Is that correct?

Thank you! No, I use it as dry powder directly onto the TPE, just like you would do with any makeup mascara etc. I only used oil 2 times. If I wanted to dissolve it a bit after I had put it on to fade/blur it out and then for wiping off around the dyed area and clean the edges.
Yeah this can also be used for the face eg. lips, eyeliner, mascara shades etc.

gogodolls wrote:Really impressive again!

Is this the same girl who had the hollow surgery?

Her nickname will become the "lab doll".

Well done! Godt klaret!

Thanks! Mange tak!
Yes, it's the same doll. She has no name, so 'lab doll' will do. Still banging her though...

These oil-based powder colors for food decoration also comes as dust set. Eg. from Petal Crafts (google; 'petal dust set').
I haven't tried these though, so don't know if they're good.

Brilliant...thanks

Ok, I`m hooked. I need to try this, however the video was a tad confusing, as I could not see some of the colors and products. Would you please give us a written detailed instruction on the video? Thanks!

Incredibly creative. How did you discover that food color powder would work or that a heat gun would seal?

This is great! Agares' nipples could use some coloring and this could probably be done on lips (upper and lower ones for those who have both sets )

If you use the 3M tape primer 94 to melt down some TPE to a very runny paste, and coat the area, with a thin layer of paste the color you added will not be leeched out by the oil, especially if you use the heat gun again after the paste dries..
Thank you so much for this information!!!

Thanks guys! I will throw in the new link for the Face Makeup (head makeover) here: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=139010

jazzman wrote:Incredibly creative. How did you discover that food color powder would work or that a heat gun would seal?

I just tried out a lot of different types of dye colors on test TPE. I'm familiar with most of it from my professional work (which I will not mention here). However, I couldn't really get it to stick to the TPE when I washed it. Then I tried to heat it with a lighter (burn it in) and it worked. Then I bought the heat gun ($45) knowing that I would also need it for another project anyway ( viewtopic.php?f=229&t=136921 ).
Afterwards I saw on YouTube that special effects (FX) artists uses somewhat the same method (airbrushing though) when making silicone heads and masks for movies etc. They also use a heat gun to make the color layers sit. So I figured I was on the right track. And by using food colors it would be a non-toxic affair (except for the TPE fumes), so that was a big win for me.

muesky6969 wrote:If you use the 3M tape primer 94 to melt down some TPE to a very runny paste, and coat the area, with a thin layer of paste the color you added will not be leeched out by the oil, especially if you use the heat gun again after the paste dries..

Yes, I'm aware of this method from Weezer's posts. The problem is that the M3 94 Primer is toxic as hell. And i don't know if I would feel like sucking nipples or lips knowing about the toxicity from the 94 Primer seal. I don't think so... And besides, I don't need to oil these few parts of the doll. It's not really necessary.
Anyhow, yes you're right it could work and I might try it out someday at a later time when I'm done using this doll.

I've personally never oiled my dolls in the 4 years since I started acquiring them. I've yet to notice any issues, tears, cracks, drying out etc. They are all TPE so I can't speak for silicone but I have silicone sex toys that are 5+ years old and again I never would have thought to oil those, no issues, still like brand new. My experience is as long as you clean them, don't leave them laying around where they shouldn't be and maybe don't just leave it sitting naked in direct sunlight for 3 years, you should be fine.

Fantastic video! I don't even have my first doll yet but was wondering how I would be able to redo tan lines and your white powder could be the answer. (I still don't know if when they do tan lines they paint the white part or the tan part). I noticed brunch seems to be taking quite a bit of time on the dish wash soap and shampoo portion! hehe looks like a fun boob massage. I wonder if anyone has tried freckles with the powder method. Afraid markers may bleed too much but powder may not get a small enough dot.

Perfect video! Thank you

I was also looking for a semi-permanent makeup solution. Something that can be applied once and mostly only comes off with baby oil sounds good enough for me to be a little bit comfortable not having some professional doll makeup artist do it.

My interest currently is mostly with lip coloring, since that wore off very quickly for me. And despite this thread not being named accurately for face or more specifically lip-related questions, it's at least a tutorial thread of some sort instead of "buried deep someplace".

You mentioned in your other thread for face additional precautions:

IMPORTANT: If heat sealing the face one should cover the eyes area with wood (not heat conductive). Else the eyelids and eyelashes will melt . I learned this the hard way. But the edge of a rounded wooden chopping board as cover can provide protection just fine (just don't melt it down in the surrounding TPE ).

I'm kind of wondering if two boards would be better, one for each eye, so that the nose wouldn't create a gap underneath? Though they might move if not secured somehow. Add a central third one and I'd guess it's a pretty effective barrier at that point.

With that said, I don't own even one wooden cutting board. Are there any other common insulators that a household might own in a suitable form factor? Books are kind-of-wood, but are they safe under a heat gun? How about... ceramic dinner plates?

Then there's the issue of how powerful of a heat gun setting is to be used (I don't own one yet so knowing this would help a purchase decision too)? How close would it be used? For what duration? And how widely does this vary between TPE blends? And since it already seems from this list there might not be an exact answer, in general how do you know when it's time to stop applying heat?

I put up an order for two TPE samples to try stuff out. Maybe I'll get at least some idea of what colors I will get in practice. Are these ones "oil based for fat solution" that you mention as a necessary property? it's at least a brand I can find locally: https://www.staedter.de/en/food-colour-powder.html