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New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Technician »

Mishka, I have one of those little butane torches that has the adapter to make it a tiny heat gun of sorts. Such a thing could be revolutionary due to the precision once one gets the distance down but in your opinion do you think it would discolor the TPE being essentially an open flame?

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Mishka1965 »

Technician wrote:Mishka, I have one of those little butane torches that has the adapter to make it a tiny heat gun of sorts. Such a thing could be revolutionary due to the precision once one gets the distance down but in your opinion do you think it would discolor the TPE being essentially an open flame?

I tried this, and the temp goes up too fast and melts the TPE. The heat gun has a smaller nozzle, and achieves this ok - hence why they train the factory people to use this method.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Technician »

I'll pass on trying the butane torch and pick out the right heat gun for me before I try the original method.

I did the repair today, experimented on a tongue to replicate the procedure and then just did it. When I was first experimenting with this I said I was using waxed paper but it was actually the empty backing from a sheet of Avery labels and I learned today that real waxed paper isn't nearly as good as the Avery paper, lol. I didn't see a tremendous difference between the two but the waxed paper will grip the hot TPE for whatever reason and the Avery paper just peels right off.

This is the damage to be repaired on the left shoulder, Bubbles came to me like this, I knew there would be some "additional personality" to her because she's a knockoff from Amazon and was about $100 USD cheaper than the going rate even there for a 140cm.
More about Bubbles: https://www.dollforum.com/forum/viewtop ... 4&t=116186
This has been a concern of mine as I would prefer it not be allowed to expand into a bigger wound but I had my expectations of the repair dialed down pretty far so as not to be disappointed by the quality of the repair being my first attempt and pioneering a new method.
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Stole a little material from inside the neck area.
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Trimmed the repair material down and fit it into the wound. The wound and repair material have already been washed thoroughly and well oiled with mineral oil in this picture.
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This picture is hot, one nice thing about the waxed paper is that once the oil gets on it you can see through it pretty well to see what's going on while heating.
If I do another repair (or mod) I may try the waxed parchment paper since it more closely resembles the Avery backing paper.
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Below is about 1/2 way through the repair, I switched to the Avery paper after this since the waxed paper was being pissy about peeling off nicely and noted that the Avery paper performed well without any oil on the TPE.
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I did a bit of texturing with a clean cloth to remove the gloss here, being a cheaper doll the color was slightly inconsistent between the shoulder and the neck so it's a little less than perfect.
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After powder it looks fairly normal, I may fiddle with it again someday but for now I'm delighted to have the damage repaired before it can escalate.
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The mini iron used for the repair was a Sunbeam GCSBTR-100-000, it's a super cool little iron that heats more rapidly than any iron or for that matter any heating element I've ever seen. The thermostat control is manageable to use and I used my IR thermometer to monitor the temp of the iron and Bubbles' shoulder throughout the process.
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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Babel99 »

You just got your TPE surgeon degree Technician! Fantastic job! :thumbs_up:
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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by iconiQ »

Technician wrote:I'll pass on trying the butane torch and pick out the right heat gun for me before I try the original method.

...
That's one heck of an approach to a repair. Excellent job!

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Technician »

Thanks guys, I just got my first TPE in October. The heat gun method looks superior to what I've done but my repair can be replicated with stuff everyone has laying around and since TPE can be re-worked one could stop a tear from spreading like this and revisit it with a heat gun later to improve the repair and likely get better penetration.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Mishka1965 »

Actually, the hot iron method looks real good for those cuts or abrasions on flat areas easy to reach - and Avery paper look like it works well.
Good job

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Technician »

I thought I saw somewhere about injecting oil into joints to free them up but I can't find it. That's a thing, right?

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Maviarab »

Technician wrote:I thought I saw somewhere about injecting oil into joints to free them up but I can't find it. That's a thing, right?
This has been done yes with fine needles. Shouldn't require doing but if they are particularly over-stuff then maybe worth considering.

Keep on topic though please...any unrelated questions start a new thread please.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Rumstalk »

This is really good information, I can't believe I missed this area before. Well done on your repairs everyone, and a special thanks to Mishka1965 for all this great information.

I admit that I did my best to read this thread, but just in case I missed it - Mishka, or anyone know a good place to get a good deal on sample TPE material? Most vendors I've looked offer it for $25, but don't always mention the size of the piece, and one vendor gives an approximate with the note that the sizes are random.

Especially in one of your videos Mishka, I noticed for your demonstrations, you had fairly big pieces of sample TPE, where did you get that? Or did you just luck out and get a really huge piece?

Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Mishka1965 »

Rumstalk wrote:This is really good information, I can't believe I missed this area before. Well done on your repairs everyone, and a special thanks to Mishka1965 for all this great information.

I admit that I did my best to read this thread, but just in case I missed it - Mishka, or anyone know a good place to get a good deal on sample TPE material? Most vendors I've looked offer it for $25, but don't always mention the size of the piece, and one vendor gives an approximate with the note that the sizes are random.

Especially in one of your videos Mishka, I noticed for your demonstrations, you had fairly big pieces of sample TPE, where did you get that? Or did you just luck out and get a really huge piece?

Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome.

The TPE parts I have are very large pieces and are many kilos. These are from recycled dolls that broke during photoshoots and could not be repaired.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Chuck Norris »

Thank you very much Mishka for the tips. I luv you to bits for that tutorial!
I have a regular soldering iron made to repair circuit boards and electronics but not the one with a adjustable thermostat so the tpe always started smoking as soon as I touch it.
I have to do hip surgery soon and just bought that heat station from amazon.
Hope it does miracle lol!
Thanks again and cheers!

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Rumstalk »

That makes sense. They did seem a bit too big to be sample TPE. On another note, is there a "recommended resting period" that you have to give the doll after the repair? Make sure everything "re-cures"(not sure if that's the right word) properly? Or can it be used immediately after a repair?

I'm sorry if it was mentioned before, but I honestly don't remember it being mentioned anywhere. The only thing I've seen so far is a "24 hour curing period" when using TPE Solvent, which of course isn't the method you've used in these tutorials.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by Technician »

TPE shouldn't be stretched aggressively until it's temperature is approximately the same as the rest of the doll. The first experiments I ran were with a home made "TPE glue" which was essentially TPE dissolved in solvent, that method would have a cure time while the solvent evaporates but thermal repairs are actually good to go as soon as the temperature is below the melting threshold.

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Re: New video - TPE repairs, a comprehensive tutorial

Post by -Ragnar66- »

I´ll make reference to this great thread very soon. 8) Soldering iron is on the way and some TPE cubes I got from manufacturer directly. Thanks Mishka and all providing the how's and do's. :glou:

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