Running a few experiments.

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Tue Jun 14, 2016 9:30 am

DarkOne wrote:I would suggest you try more with the iron, but what I did was use a regular soldering iron tip, but the end of it was sanded down to a round nub, and the tip was bent into a J like shape for being able to smooth TPE with the outside curve.

Copper cored (or even just plated) soldering iron tips will conduct heat better then many other materials.

Another suggestion would be aluminum rod. Steel is a very poor conductor of heat and that steel blade is not nearly thick enough to conduct heat or hold enough heat.

Point taken.
...a couple of hours later...

New cut

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New aluminium blade

: P1010264.JPG (801.97 KiB) Viewed 1766 times

and new hook attachment

: P1010266.JPG (818.37 KiB) Viewed 1766 times

Repair, (this repair is closest to the camera, not to be confused with the previous repair further from the camera).

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Blade was sizzling hot. The blade pulled through reasonably quickly. TPE was molten and pushed together.
Wait about 10 min and give it some wellie

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: P1010262.JPG (715.7 KiB) Viewed 1766 times

This seems a much better fix than before.
Thank you Dark One, for your insight and suggestions.

Tyr

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:39 pm

Fresh with the experiences of my tests here, I performed the repair on Ami. http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=73170

There are a few points of note:
The TPE of the test sample and of my Doll would seem to have different properties. The test sample is more flexible and softer, (more elastic) and would seem to melt easier.
Ami seems to spall up/tear instead of stretching.
The cold cure mix attacked the TPE, unlike the test sample where it was relatively benign.(this may be due to mixture age and strength but there are all manner of variables) If you use this method, test it somewhere (neck tube)? In small quantities!
I used the new aluminium hot knife mod to the soldering iron for virtually all of the repair. Make sure it is hot enough to melt the TPE on both sides, hold the joint together and withdraw the blade. I ended up with a slight ridge which I smoothed down later.
I used the round bar 'J' fitting to smooth the leg repair.
I used very small quantities of the cold cure mix to reinforce the labia rebuild yesterday, then tidied it up with the hot knife today.

Tyr

samara78 · Post by **samara78** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 5:29 pm

That is aeesome. Great work.

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 10:32 am

Hi Everybody,

Ami's last repair Seems to be holding up quite well, so far at least. http://dollforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=73170
We are at the delamination stage, and certainly some is visible but mostly labia and the leg repair. I pulled off one chunk of the repair which had not taken, but that is all. Smoothing the insides of her pussy seems to have stress relieved the TPE. She still feels ok when having sex. All of the remaining problems are 'cosmetic' and I have been thinking about how to address them.

: after a week.; P1010330.JPG (823.35 KiB) Viewed 1710 times

I intend to have another attempt at using the cold cure method on the leg repair, I'm fairly certain that there is a period when the mix is just right for this repair, that is to say not too volatile that it dissolves the parent TPE but enough that it makes a bond. I will be running a test or two on my sample to try and get a feel for the right viscosity.
I have also made some new solder bits.

: solder bits; P1010329.JPG (812.34 KiB) Viewed 1710 times

I have tried these on my old test sample. Using the tapered ends to fill/seal holes by squeezing them shut and poking the bit in, seems to work quite well. You have a high temperature localised point which allows tiny modifications to a repair to be carried out. I have a rounded end bit too which works well at flowing molten TPE around. I used the soldering iron as is, full power, the tips get very hot, ' paper burning' hot, but I believe that that so far, is the only way to stand a chance to fix TPE.

Tyr

SiliconeWorld · Post by **SiliconeWorld** » Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:42 pm

Really enjoy the sharing of knowledge with posts like yours.
These type posts make TDF an invaluable source of information for doll enthusiasts.

The photos really enhanced the narrative .

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 3:52 am

SiliconeWorld wrote:Really enjoy the sharing of knowledge with posts like yours.
These type posts make TDF an invaluable source of information for doll enthusiasts.

The photos really enhanced the narrative .

Hi SiliconeWorld, Appreciate your appreciation.

It's been a steep learning curve! Things seem to have settled down I'm glad to say, Ami's repairs seem to be stable, she still needs some attention but none of it urgent. So I'm going to take some time off, there is some testing still in the pipeline but at a more relaxed pace from now on.
It's tough when you invest hard earned cash in something and then have it break. It can be heartbreaking. I know, I was gutted, but you can't take them to the local mechanic, so you have to develop some local expertise. I had a lot of help here by people who may not even be aware of it, just by reading their posts. If I have helped too, then that's awesome.

Cheers,
Tyr

RGC_0767 · Post by **RGC_0767** » Mon May 14, 2018 8:54 pm

An experiment to make some filler TPE paste. Did not work too bad.

3 Teaspoons of Xylene
1/4 Teaspoon of Petroleum Jelly (vaseline)
Approx. 1 inch square of TPE 1/2 inch thick.

Cut TPE into very small bits with scissors, and mix the whole mess up in a tin cup or glass jar.

You'll want majority of the Xylene to evaporate, so leave it covered with a paper towel somewhere you wont smell the fumes. But do stir it up occasionally.

My test here took 2 days to get to a nice syrupy mix.

Can apply using a small brush.
Did not damage my test piece. This paste is best for areas not under much stress. It does hold up stretching not too bad though.

Paste-test.jpg

Always Tweaking
Always experimenting!

PatrickC · Post by **PatrickC** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 6:39 pm

All great information! ...which is why I joined this board

Pumpster · Post by **Pumpster** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 5:56 am

Much needed experiments! Using xylene doesn't create air bubbles into the xylene-TPE-mix when it's curing? I was testing with ABS plastic welding liquid I happened to have and it seemed to fuse TPE together seamlessly. At least it seemed like it would tear like 1 piece of TPE would tear when pulled apart enough and glued spot didn't seem to give up. But the more TPE I mix with it the more air bubbles end result has when it has cured so it's not good for making paste.

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:09 am

Tyr
Just came into this topic and may have missed any mentioning of using baby oil on the surfaces to be joined when hot melting the stuff together.

Tyr · Post by **Tyr** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 5:38 pm

Hi seagull, I'd forgotten about this thread

On the subject of baby oil, I don't use it when joining TPE with heat. If I were to use anything I'd use White oil. (Paraffinum Perliquidium, Medical White Oil), which I have a small supply of, care of Indigo 20. I use that oil for smoothing and removing surface abrasions mainly to stop the tool from sticking. It was also a requirement to prepare the repair area prior to applying the Comfort Kit repair paste, another of Indigo's products.
I'm not sure if oiling would help a soldering iron repair or not. It seems to be hard enough to persuade TPE to bond at the best of times.

Cheers,

Tyr

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 7:53 pm

It seems that any really thin mineral oil will work.
The rationale is from giving tpe dolls an oil wipe to restore a drying surface.
Heated oil at the iron hot end will soften the tpe and assist it flow together.
Being oil it gets absorbed into the surrounding tpe and the weld is about as strong as it can be

The oil also acts as a lube for the iron