Mad Doll Doctor

This little doll has a problem with flaking, and no, Head & Shoulders won’t help. This was a cheaply made dolly and her original paint was applied very thinly, so now patches are flaking away.

Since much of the paint is still firmly attached, and I am from the “Less is more” school, I will remove only that which is loose. I will do this with my X-acto knife. Once the loose paint is removed, I use a small brush to “paint” a very small amount of wood glue into the borders of the firmly attached paint. You do not want to use so much glue that you get the borders wet. I push the glue on with a backwards motion, starting on the bare area and into the edge the remaining paint. Wipe away the excess glue and allow the area to dry.

Once the glue is dry, I will use a very thin skim of Paper Clay in the areas between the old paint and bare compo to make them level with one another. Be careful not to apply too thickly and obscure the details of her hair. Also avoid getting paper clay on the old paint area as much as possible. You don’t want the old paint getting damp or it will lift off. Let the paper clay dry. When the paper clay is dry, sand the area lightly with a fine grit sandpaper. Once I am satisfied that the repaired area is smooth and level with the original paint, I like to apply a thin coat of gesso. Let the gesso dry. Now the doll is ready to paint.

After painting give the whole doll a coat of varnish to seal her up good and prevent more flaking.