Still worried about the vinyl. Can someone help me to understand?

[American_Mommy]

When browsing Ebay, I have seen some VERY shiny dolls. I have seen some grayish dolls. I have seen lifeless, colorless dolls, and I have seen fresh peachy dolls.
Will all dolls eventually deteriorate and become high-shine? Or did the shiny dolls actually start like that? Are these just the older dolls?
Kit is setting in my cart with the code in place. This is the closest I have been... Will a brand new Kit have that pretty peachy skintone? I just need to be certain.
I know a lot of you are extremely knowledgeable about AG dolls. Any help will be appreciated.

[JuliaAM]

I've been wondering about that too. It seems the more a doll is played with, the more the vinyl is "buffed", thus making it shiny. I can't prove that but I've noticed dolls listed as mint aren't nearly as shiny as the dolls well played with. I've also been wondering if it's possible to remove the shine by using baking soda cleanser.

Julia

[horsemom]

My Kirsten and Felicity dolls were very well-played with and are from the first years they came out. Neither is very shiny, but I have cleaned them up with baking soda over the years every so often. I never noticed them get really shiny though. [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

I have seen shiny dolls on ebay and I'm not sure how that happens. I always guessed it was from oils from people's hands over the years attracting grime but ???

[American_Mommy]

I just worry.It reminds me of the way some of the dolls of the 1950's and 60's look when their vinyl begins to break down.I am afraid that shine can't be cleaned away.
Has anyone here had a shiny doll that they were able to restore?

[Aunt Cornelia]

I once read something that an expert on vinyl wrote. He said that oils are released from vinyl over time and this always happens. Now I don't think he said if you can fix it or not, but I'll bet that baking soda might do the trick. Let us know if any of you try it.

[Stephanie31802]

I have a Samantha from 1988 and a Kirsten from 91 or 92 and neither one of them are shiny and they are very well played with. I have never cleaned them with baking soda or anything else. I'm no expert on the shininess issue but I don't believe it due solely to the age of the dolls. My Samantha is quite old by AG standards and she is fine.

[amandajg]

My Kirsten has a shiny skin tone, but she always had that. I think it has something to do with the materials used in the early AG dolls.

I just got Kit and she has a beautiful skin tone!

Of course, there are no promises, as dolls may have been made in a different place or at a different time or something and therefore their features (coloring, freckles, etc.) may possibly vary slightly. In the store I even saw Kits right next to eachother who had fewer freckles than others. [img]confused.gif[/img]

editing to add: my Kirsten is not incredibly shiny, I only notice it when I compare her very closely to my other dolls. Maybe it also has to do with how much they're played with. I always took care of Kirsten and had clean hands when playing with her, so I don't know if the shine has anything to do with skin oils or whatever. Also, perhaps the dolls on ebay just look shiny because the pictures are bad? (they look shinier because of the flash, etc.)

<font color="#051E50" size="1">[ February 26, 2005 08:31 PM: Message edited by: * Amanda * ]</font>

[ubarose]

The texure of my old Sam is smoother than the texture of my new Felicity. Sam doesn't appear shiny to the naked eye. However, she reflects more light in flash photos.

[adriana82]

I have a new bitty and an old bitty. Now I never "played" with old bitty a lot, but she definitely is much shinier than new bitty. I tried to clean her well with baking soda, but she is still pretty shiny.

[American_Mommy]

Hmmm... Well, Maybe it was just something with the type of vinyl they used for some of the dolls.Maybe if I get Kit this will never happen to her.I will love her no matter what.I do not believe I have ever oberved this on a Kit doll on ebay.
Thank you for all of your help everyone.