Several questions concerning the bolts of the standing feet

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:02 am

I recently got a WM 166C and quickly found out that the bolts of the standing feet are very harmful to my wood parquet floor and my bathtub enameling. So I had the idea to buy two things to protect the ground from the bolts:

For showering I would buy bathing sandals like these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andres-Machado ... T3NB5&th=1

And for all other cases I would buy gymnastics slippers like these:
https://www.amazon.de/Gymnastikschuhe-B ... B01EOZBR9Y

Does anyone has any experiences with these kind of shoes for protection?

And two additional questions:
How much should I screw the bolt into the feet? Should they be as much in as possible or should they stand out?

And do they rust easily? Should I avoid water on the bolts at all costs?

Arthur1960 · Post by **Arthur1960** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:54 am

Hi here, couple of quick points, yes avoid water getting anywhere neat the bolts, not so much that its a problem for them as they are easily replaceable but rather you must avoid water getting into the holes in the feet and thus the skeleton. The bolts should be set about 1/4" proud of the tpe and you can actually use cheap plastic bolt caps with the bolts for added protection. There are a few threads about that. Yes having your gal wear some flat shoes is a good idea, converse types of the right size are good. If you are putting her in the shower then put some plastic bags over the feet secured with elastic bands but watch for water seeping in and whatever you do don't sit her in a bath of water, once water gets to the skeleton rust will eventually take hold. Hope that helps.

Zippy81 · Post by **Zippy81** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 12:06 pm

You should always avoid getting water on any of the metal portions of the doll at all cost.

As for the sandals in the shower im unfamiliar with that approach personally. I use a extra thick foam matt to stand my dolls on in the shower after I wash them. I wash them sitting on a shower chair so the feet don't get wet on bottom. But as for the sandals. I would be weary of the sandals doing damage to the feet in between the big toe area and/or the heel area.

And the foot bolts should be just past the tpe "skin" as to relieve any pressure pushing up on the tpe skin. (repeated upward pressure on the TPE around the bolts would cause tears in the surrounding areas. As for the slippers You really want something that isn't thin and fairly rugged on the bottom You have to figure all the downward weight/pressure is rest on 3 small pointy metal bolts. Also the elastic would likely wear at the top of the foot and around the ankle area.

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 1:23 pm

Thanks, guys!

Zippy81 · Post by **Zippy81** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 8:38 pm

welcome!

MikeOxbigg · Post by **MikeOxbigg** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 11:27 pm

MannequinFan's foot peg covers are a nice upgrade.

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:12 am

What do you think of these? https://www.schrauben-abdeckkappen.de/s ... 3-mm-beige (site is in German)

Maviarab · Post by **Maviarab** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:16 am

Yeah anything like that will work.

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:27 am

Thanks, then I will buy and try them.

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Sat Apr 27, 2019 7:45 pm

Meanwhile I bought three different bolt caps:

1.) https://www.schrauben-abdeckkappen.de/s ... 3-mm-beige => Unfortunately I bought the wrong size. Although the cap has a diameter of 13 mm (the bolt has only 10), the bottom of the cap (each cap has a counterpart) is too small (8 mm). But I think these caps will do it. I will order the larger version.
2.) https://www.schrauben-abdeckkappen.de/b ... 10mm-beige => Too small. 10 mm in the decription is the outer diameter of the cap bottom part, not the inner.
3.) https://www.ebay.de/itm/Abdeckkappen-Sc ... 3002209681 => Fits, but gets destroyed very fast. The doll is just too heavy for these. The bottom part of this cap, which is placed inside the bolt "hole", breaks off or is crushed after a short amount of time.

And I'm glad I did not order shoes with a thin sole. Now I bought "normal" shoes and you can clearly see the points where the bolts (with the caps) press against the sole. I guess the shoes will not last forever. The first pair of socks has already been destroyed by the bolts.

These bolts are really a problem... They also made damage to the feet of my doll.

curiousswede · Post by **curiousswede** » Sat Apr 27, 2019 8:07 pm

Yes, you should avoid water coming in contact with any metal inside and outside of the doll (neck, feet, fingers if the metal poked out from the TPE). Btw, those shoes will, more or less, get crushed by the bolts due to the weight. You would need a pair of shoes with real soles inside of them.

At the same time I will also say (USE AT OWN RISK) that what works for me is that if I need to clean the top part of the feet and the doll is standing up and I shower her feet with the shower nozzle in my hand, I can quickly dry her feet with an hair-drier with regular heat and I will move it around quickly as to not cause any hot spots that could cause melting or deformations.

For me, I have had no mold so far from the feet or other parts of the doll (still USE AT OWN RISK), so for me it is about showering and being careful with the shower nozzle, and also being quick to air-dry it manually with a hair-drier.

It should be noted that I do NOT spray directly under the feet. She is standing up and I am showering her feet from up pretty quickly. Thanks to gravity most of the water will not get too far inside that wouldn't be able to air dry with hair-drier. I also use a white microfiber cloth to get in there and rub some to get some possible water out from there.

smallcat · Post by **smallcat** » Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:57 pm

Simple way for me was socks and a hard small carpet rug($4-10$) to put under their feet. Most shoes or slippers, how cheap the foam/material is, the bolts tear through it easily. I had my girl some nice water proof keen sandles but her dam bolts ruins the foot padding

The bolts should be even with the tpe.

I've washed my bolted dolls barefoot in showers fine on a shower rubber mat($5)(not scratch my tiles) to hold them into position. Just make sure to dry their feet/bolts really good, its not like you are going to drown them in a bath.

87rdjw3i · Post by **87rdjw3i** » Sun Apr 28, 2019 9:34 am

smallcat wrote:The bolts should be even with the tpe.

Now we have three different statements here: even with the TPE, just past the TPE and 1/4" out of the TPE.

When I let the bolts stand out when the foot is in normal position, they are nearly under the TPE when the feet are outstretched and so they destroy the TPE.

Also when letting the doll stand on her feet, the TPE seems to be on the ground, not the bolts, because the feet seem to be crooked.

Either I got some bad quality feet or it will take some more years to have real standing feet.

Mr Franz · Post by **Mr Franz** » Sun Apr 28, 2019 12:18 pm

MarkB89 wrote: Now we have three different statements here: even with the TPE, just past the TPE and 1/4" out of the TPE.

Well here's a 4th, MarkB89! I extend my gal's standing foot bolts about 3/16" out from the bottom of the foot in the front and about 3/8" in the back. I extend the back bolt a little more than the front two, because the bulk of the doll's weight is on that bolt when standing bare foot or in low heel shoes, which my doll wears most of the time.

Prior to extending the bolts, my doll's soles were showing slight signs of scuffing around the bolt holes after just a few weeks. Since extending the bolts however, there has been no further damage after well over a year of near continuous standing.

There's no one size fits all solution when it comes to dolls. The best any of us can tell you is what works for us. Keep in mind though, circumstances vary for each member. You experience may well differ. So consider the advice you get here, but do experiment and see what works best for you and your particular circumstances.

icewind · Post by **icewind** » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:00 pm

I only want to share my experiences...

For a special promotion video we put a doll into the baltic sea (salt water) for 20 minutes.

I didn't clean her feet, not even dry them. No rust after 4 month.

I always put my dolls sitting into the bathtube and wash the feet directly, but i don't put them under water...

I dry the screws with paper tissue...

No rust so far...