Staining and Cleaning (continuously updated)

maxman wrote:I'm currently having custom clothes being made for my Phicen figurines. The wonderful clothes-maker has bought a Phicen S39 to help with the task. She had to use pencil to draw on the figure, and now wonders how she can clean the pencil marks off.

Any ideas? Or would the usual wash, mild soap, leave to air dry, remove pencil marks?

On another note, her Phicen S39 has a tearing nipple just about 3 weeks after receiving it. I vaguely know there are silicone-friendly glue which some people here use. What brand is it?

GubernatorFan wrote:

maxman wrote:I'm currently having custom clothes being made for my Phicen figurines. The wonderful clothes-maker has bought a Phicen S39 to help with the task. She had to use pencil to draw on the figure, and now wonders how she can clean the pencil marks off.

Any ideas? Or would the usual wash, mild soap, leave to air dry, remove pencil marks?

On another note, her Phicen S39 has a tearing nipple just about 3 weeks after receiving it. I vaguely know there are silicone-friendly glue which some people here use. What brand is it?

I don't know that there is anything that can get the pencil off. Maybe clear mineral spirits? But anyway, pencil is notoriously one of the few things that actually stains these surfaces effectively. Whatever method she uses, she should reapply protective powder to keep the surface from getting tacky and more easily damaged.

I also don't know that there is any glue that would completely fix a tearing nipple (how on earth did that happen?), but in principle, silicon glue of some sort (there is some made for home improvement by GE = General Electric) ought to be a step in the right direction.

maxman wrote:I did a search on mineral spirits and was pointed to white spirit. It was described as "Good solvency for oil, grease, wax, silicone and general dirt. Do not let product come in contact with rubber." I'm guessing, Phicen is made of silicone, and from another thread, Jiaou is some kind of TPE.

My clothes-maker found the nipple tearing off when she undressed the S39 to make my clothes. It would appear to be like this out-of-the-box. I haven't seen it for myself yet.

Kayla wrote:Thank you for sharing your experiences on staining and cleaning.   Many have probably already had painful experiences with discoloration of clothing - you can't always only wear white clothes (even if I luckily like white and my 1:6 scale girls and ladies too).


Over many years I have gained experience in the durable dyeing of 1:1 scale clothing (for people). And then fixing salt is used to fix the color and, if necessary, supplemented with normal table salt (if the amount of fixing salt is not enough).

So I transferred these experiences to the 1:6 scale clothing. I first wash the clothes I bought with liquid detergent for silk and wool (very mild detergent). Each item of clothing comes in an extra cereal bowl (for better observation). In several rinses I watch whether the paint is still bleeding. When little or no more color is bleeding out, I add table salt to the rinse bath to fixate and let it soak for a while. And then rinse one last time with clean water and let it dry.

Once I was too impatient with a new pair of jeans - a big mistake!   I really wanted to know immediately whether the fit was right and immediately tried the jeans on a Phicen Lady. And her legs and feet (seamless) were instantly blue! Of course, I immediately washed the body with water and a mild shower gel and the discoloration became a little lighter. Then I put the Phicen Lady in a tall cylinder with distilled water for about  2  weeks, which covered the discoloration. Fortunately, the color has been completely removed.
Caution - please do not use normal tap water (for soaking)!
In my first attempt with tap water (a long time ago) the silicone skin turned reddish brown because the water contained traces of minerals. If you leave the body in the water for a few days, it takes on the color of the minerals (even if the water looks clear). But I was also able to completely remove this discoloration with distilled water. Lots of trial and error experience!

Baristapunk wrote:

Thank you for sharing your experiences on staining and cleaning.   Many have probably already had painful experiences with discoloration of clothing - you can't always only wear white clothes (even if I luckily like white and my 1:6 scale girls and ladies too).


Over many years I have gained experience in the durable dyeing of 1:1 scale clothing (for people). And then fixing salt is used to fix the color and, if necessary, supplemented with normal table salt (if the amount of fixing salt is not enough).

So I transferred these experiences to the 1:6 scale clothing. I first wash the clothes I bought with liquid detergent for silk and wool (very mild detergent). Each item of clothing comes in an extra cereal bowl (for better observation). In several rinses I watch whether the paint is still bleeding. When little or no more color is bleeding out, I add table salt to the rinse bath to fixate and let it soak for a while. And then rinse one last time with clean water and let it dry.

Once I was too impatient with a new pair of jeans - a big mistake!   I really wanted to know immediately whether the fit was right and immediately tried the jeans on a Phicen Lady. And her legs and feet (seamless) were instantly blue! Of course, I immediately washed the body with water and a mild shower gel and the discoloration became a little lighter. Then I put the Phicen Lady in a tall cylinder with distilled water for about  2  weeks, which covered the discoloration. Fortunately, the color has been completely removed.
Caution - please do not use normal tap water (for soaking)!
In my first attempt with tap water (a long time ago) the silicone skin turned reddish brown because the water contained traces of minerals. If you leave the body in the water for a few days, it takes on the color of the minerals (even if the water looks clear). But I was also able to completely remove this discoloration with distilled water. Lots of trial and error experience!

LongLostMan wrote:Hi everyone, I’ve been a member here for a while now but haven’t been active on the forum much so I’m sorry if this question has been raised before. I have a Phicen TBleague M33 still in its box and I bought him some nice clothes but I’m terrified of them staining him. Obviously I will wash everything first as per the instructions here but I also wondered if one of these white bodysuits would help prevent it. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144482999994?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zNW4MPxBSzW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=wQ9g2aT2RJO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

GubernatorFan wrote:

LongLostMan wrote:Hi everyone, I’ve been a member here for a while now but haven’t been active on the forum much so I’m sorry if this question has been raised before. I have a Phicen TBleague M33 still in its box and I bought him some nice clothes but I’m terrified of them staining him. Obviously I will wash everything first as per the instructions here but I also wondered if one of these white bodysuits would help prevent it. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144482999994?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=zNW4MPxBSzW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=wQ9g2aT2RJO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Hi LLM,

In principle, if you can fit this bodysuit and the clothes on top onto the body, it ought to be helpful. Pleather and dark black and blue clothing tend to stain the most. Anything that keeps the body from making contact with a staining material would help; but in my experience, interposing some strips of clear plastic wrap was not very successful -- it is as if the dye found a way around it! Maybe I just did not cover enough of the surface. 
May I ask what type of stuff you intend to put on the body?

Also keep in mind that, while it can be extremely disconcerting when it happens, staining on TBLeague / Phicen TPE surfaces tends to go away with a good wash with warm water and soap (remember to dry the body carefully and apply a fresh layer of protective powder of some sort -- even starch works), or sometimes even if the body is just left to its own devices for a few days.

LongLostMan wrote:Thanks for your advice, it’s much appreciated. I have posted a link to the outfit that I purchased for my figure below, it is a dark grey pinstripe suit.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384895591087?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=mYSor_kbS-G&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=wQ9g2aT2RJO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY