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About Nancy's Doll Restoration

Our Service Pledge To You:
All orders are shipped within 3 business days of receiving payment. All items are guaranteed to be as stated in the text. All items are from a smoke-free environment.

About Us
I have been restoring dolls professionally since 1999. I specialize in composition, but also work on hard plastic and vinyl. I'm especially fond of taking a doll in really poor condition and making it look nice again. I do my best to keep the doll looking as original as possible. Besides working on my own dolls, I do repairs and restorations for others. I am a perfectionist and pride myself in the quality of my work.

I hold a Certificate for Professional Doll Restoration, Morgan's Collectibles

Member UFDC - United Federation of Doll Clubs

Member Doll Doctor's Association

I am often asked what the process is for restoring a composition doll so I will share some of the basics:

It takes approx. 90 to 120 days to complete a full restoration on a composition doll. This is a process that cannot be rushed and the following is what it generally entails:

First the doll is disassembled, I remove the wig, eyes, teeth, and tongue. All paint is removed to the bare composition. I am careful to preserve the detail on the doll during this process. If the eyes are crazed, I replace the iris's. I add eyelashes if needed.

I repair all compo damage and sand by hand until the compo is smooth and free of defects.

Once sanded, I apply about 6 coats of primer and sealant on each piece. When the primer is cured, I sand again until the compo is smooth. I repeat this process a second time. I sand again until smooth and free of defects.

The next step is to airbrush about 6 coats of acrylic enamel paint as a base coat. I let it cure about 2 weeks and then lightly sand again.

I airbrush the final acrylic enamel in the correct fleshtone and add blush, and eyeshadow if the doll requires it. I let the paint cure for about 2 more weeks before handling.

The next step is to hand paint the lips, eyelashes, and eyebrows. The teeth, tongue, and eyes are put back into the doll head. The doll is then reassembled. The clean and styled wig is glued onto the head last.

If the doll has a cloth body, I remove all filling, then clean and mend the body if needed. If the cloth body is in such poor condition that it cannot be used again, I use it as a template to create a new body out of muslin cloth. If the original filling has no odor and does not have evidence of bugs, I refill the body with it. If it has a bad odor or bugs, I replace it with clean filling.