How to Repaint a Doll
Old dolls are often made to keep their shape for a long time. Their paint, on the other hand, may not last nearly as long. A fresh coat of paint on a doll can give it new life and make even worn antiques look new, but doing this requires some skill and careful consideration. Choosing the right tools, paints and process is essential for a good restoration.
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Things You'll Need
- Paint (see step 1)
- Plastic scraper and/or sandpaper
- Fine paintbrushes
- Toothpicks
Instructions
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1
Choose an appropriate paint for your doll. If your doll is made of a flexible plastic, a latex or acrylic craft paint may be the best choice, while an enamel paint (the kind sold for model kits) may give you the best results with a glazed porcelain doll. At any rate, you might want to test your paint on less visible portion of your doll (something covered by clothing) to see if the paint is a good match in terms of color, consistency, flexibility and sheen.
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2
Try to find a photo of a doll like yours in good condition to use as a guide. You may not feel this is necessary unless your doll is particularly famous or classic, but if your doll is, you'll probably have an easier time finding a photo (see Resources below for a collectible doll directory).
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3
Determine whether your doll needs to have some old paint removed and do so if necessary. In most cases, it's probably a better idea to simply paint over the old paint with the new, but if the old paint is warping or peeling, you'll want to remove it. Scrape with a gentle instrument like a nail cuticle pusher or rub with some fine sandpaper.
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4
Mix colors. If you can't find the right color match of paint in the store, you'll need to mix your own. Look at the Resources section for a tutorial about color composition and mix larger amounts of paint then you think you'll need, just in case.
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5
Give the doll a new coat of fleshtone paint, if necessary. If any portions of the doll have been painted with a flesh color but the paint has rubbed away, you'll probably need to give it an entirely new coat (since it's highly unlikely you'll be able to get the perfect color match needed for spot touch-ups). If this is the case, start with this before coloring other features.
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6
Paint the smallest details using a toothpick. Things like eyebrows and lashes, nail paint (if any) and smaller details in the eyes will be the easiest to control with the rigid, but absorbent, tip of a toothpick.
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7
Color larger details using the small brushes. Things like lips, makeup, larger eye details and hair (if it's sculpted hard rather than styleable) will look best painted this way.
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