Need help with reborn please

First up, I'm not an reborn artist, I have done some basic repair and restore jobs on dolls but nothing big or very complicated. I have now get a problem with my reborn that I don't really know how to fix or the right way of going about it so I thought I'd better seek a bit of expert advice.

I bought a reborn a couple of years ago, she's a full body soft vinyl weighted with silicone pellets to feel squishy which was great and I was perfectly happy with her. Fast forward to a couple of nights ago and I picked her up and her limbs which were really soft and squashy were rock hard, like rigor mortis had set in!! I felt sure she used to be much cuddlier to hold and tried to ply the vinyl a bit to see if it would soften, which it did a tiny bit so I left it thinking it'd soften back up now on its own. Yesterday evening I suddenly remembered that silicone reacts with most things, that's why it's difficult to work with, and started wondering if this was the problem so I removed the limbs with some difficulty, took out the wadding and saw that the silicone pellets, instead of moving freely were clumped together, sticky, sort of disinintegrating and the inside of the limbs were moist too.

I finally scraped them all out, I can't see any more pellets in the limbs no flashd a torch in to see as far as possible but how can I be sure? Will one or two cause any issues if there are any still in there? I also need to re-attach the limbs but I don't know what to fill them with now. Is new unused chinchilla sand ok to use? I have a chinnie so I have plenty of it and it's clean, it's not like beach sand. I don't want to just fill them with wadding as they won't be very heavy compared to the the rest of her.

P.S I don't think the vinyl has been damaged, it's not discoloured or warped in any way and from what I can see the inside looks ok.

Thanks for any help :-)

I fill mine to the elbow with the fine glass, looks like sand, the the rest of the body is filled with a
good quality fibre fill. Some people put the plastic beads in the limbs, but I prefer the fine glass and
fibre fill as they limbs don't crunch then. Hope this helps, but am sure others will come in with what
they use.

I would never use any type of sand in my dolls. I would wash the limbs out real good with a grease cutting detergent. I use Dawn. Let them completely dry then fill with your glass beads a little above the knee or elbow. Then fill the rest of the way up with your fiber fill or polyfill. Here are the type of glass beads I use.  You can use the smaller glass beads too in your limbs. You want to stay away from the ultra fine glass blass. It is to fine.It can come through your hose if you are stuffing and weighting the body.

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Pounds-Large-Glass-Beads-For-Weighting-Reborn-Doll-Dolls-/192069498954?hash=item2cb83bf84a:g:g34AAOSwnDxUegyK

I WOULD NEVER PUT THE FINE GLASS IN THE BODY EVER I make little cotton bags which I put lead balls
in for weighting and then fill with good quality fibre fill. Fine glass is only ever used in my limbs up to
the elbow and knee then fibre fill, not keen on beads myself as they feel and sound cruchy.

Thank you for replies, I won't use the chinchilla sand then. My brother has got some sandblasting glass beads and has given me some, would this be ok to use? It's really small/fine like table salt or sugar and a sort of green colour with brown particles through it. It's not white like reborn supply glass is but does colour matter? I don't want it to stain my baby's limbs.

Winx wrote:

Thank you for replies, I won't use the chinchilla sand then. My brother has got some sandblasting glass beads and has given me some, would this be ok to use? It's really small/fine like table salt or sugar and a sort of green colour with brown particles through it. It's not white like reborn supply glass is but does colour matter? I don't want it to stain my baby's limbs.

I personally would be afraid to use colored (green/brown) glass beads, you never know if the color will eventually stain the vinyl. I have only used the fine clear glass beads (tiny ones) in the arms up to the elbows and legs to the knees and then filled the rest of the limbs with polyfil.

For the body, I am afraid to use the baby fat, as over time, they could erode through the stockings or whatever they are in and interact with the vinyl. (they are also expensive lol). As I want to sell mine, I only want to use time-tested methods (like years & years since it was done and it hasn't harmed the reborn to date).
For my reborns, I fill a long pouch with larger glass beads (not granules, but bigger) and surround it with polyfil - depends on
what the body is shaped like (some have two round pouch-like features on the tushie - I would put two lighter sacks to weight that area as well. Depends on how heavy you want your baby to be. If you need it to be lighter in weight - then you can make pouches for the body out of polly pellets. Always surround your pouches
with polyfil so that you cant really feel the pouches, so your baby will be more "cuddly". If you have never filled a reborn body before, a tip would be to not over
stuff it or you will not be able to pose or cuddle it very easily.

There are so many artists in the reborn community and they have soooo many different techniques. If you are making it for yourself, you don't have to worry about customs or anything else. Just make sure what you are using is safe for the vinyl and yourself. Many are using "steel balls", 1,2,3 mm glass beads (also used in sandblasting but are bigger than the tiny granules, poly pellets. I know that Debbie Henshaw uses a certain type glove (I think latex-free) and
fills them with the fine glass sandblast material and puts them into the body and head for her weighting technique.

Hopefully someone more experienced than me, will give you the suggestion that will work best for you!! Wishing you much success!

I use the larger glass beads to fill the body for weight. I have also used the steel beads and the belly fat. Bountiful baby seems to have the best price on the baby fat inserts. Sometimes Joan fabric, you can get a deal, when they have a sale and you use a coupon!

The sandblasting glass looks like this:



If it is just glass surely it won't discolour the vinyl anymore than the white one does?

That is so true being glass, they probably should not give off any color at all.

I have never seen glass like that before first time ever.  I wonder if it's less expensive than just plain clear glass?

Does the description say it is untreated ?( where its purpose is to be used in sandblasting I would just want to make sure it is not coated with anything for certain type sandblasting jobs. If is Just Pure Glass I don't see a problem with it Heck if it's cheaper maybe I'll use it LOL

Winx wrote:

The sandblasting glass looks like this:



If it is just glass surely it won't discolour the vinyl anymore than the white one does?

You should not use glass that is "sharp" like you have pictured. If your chinchilla sand is sterile and you are not planning to sell the baby, the sand can be used in your baby. The sandblasting glass they is used in reborns is smooth and rounded. Your photo is abrasive glass and not beads. I would not use it.

THIS IS THE ONE I USE

THIS IS THE ONE I USE

The glass I pictured is just for colour reference, it's actually really soft be smooth, the consistency is like the white one in your picture :)

Winx wrote:

The glass I pictured is just for colour reference, it's actually really soft be smooth, the consistency is like the white one in your picture :)

Then go for it i say!!! Sounds perfect!!