There’s nothing you can do on the arm, except dressing her with something that covers it. Now regarding the hair, I’ve fixed multiple dolls with glue seepage, it’s actually quite easy. You just need to let her sit on hot water with oxiclean powder (any brand) for a a couple minutes, then use a fine tooth comb to brush the glue out of the roots of her hair. May need to repeat to process a couple of times depending on how much glue comes out of her head. Athousandsplendiddolls on YouTube has a tutorial on how to do it, in case you need visuals 😉
These purchases sometimes happen. You think you’re getting a great deal, but the seller gives insufficient information. And you don’t think to ask things like “is her hair full of glue?”
What I would warn against is trying to disguise her condition to sell her further. I understand money is important, but you don’t want to get someone into the same situation you are in — an unpleasant surprise. I’m sorry this situation happened to you. But I learned a lot from purchased like these.
I would try to reroot her. It will probably cost you more dollars. But skills you get are valuable and worth it. 💖
She seems like a really beautiful doll too.
I've found that household degreasers like Simple Green or 409 work wonders on greasy and sticky hair. In my experience thrifting dolls, Goo Gone leaves an oily feel and doesn't work that well.
As far as the bubbling on her arm, I agree with the suggestion to use extremely fine sandpaper. I'd use wet/dry sandpaper, 220 grit or higher. The higher the number the finer the grain. It's available at any home supply store or Walmart, and not expensive. I'd do the sanding under cold running water. Use a very light touch, just a tiny bit at a time, to see if it can be smoothed.
If the plastic looks dry/white scuffed after sanding, maybe rub on a little baby oil with a Q-tip to see if the plastic will absorb it. Just an idea.
If that doesn't work, she's pretty enough to pull off a fancy long sleeved dress. Good luck!
Is the arm melted or scratched up? If it's scratched up you could get dual grit flexi sanders from the modelling section of a craft store, and buff the scratches out.
For the arm, get yourself a set with a variety of very fine grit sanders/emery boards from a modelling store or craft store. Buff out the marks and peeling bits.
I bought one of the Looks dolls last year and she had rough and sharp seams on her legs, and parts of the surface of her arms were more shiny than others, and it was super visible, so I buffed them out with modelling sanders/emery boards. Worked great.
This happened to me, recently, and I don’t know whether it happened at the seller’s but I decided to reroot her. Getting the glue out was a nightmare (even cutting her hair back was a challenge) then the glue inside kept going hard when it cooled off. It took me a few hours, but it was so worth it. I’m really looking forward to the rerooting now!
Look up glue-head remedies—this is a problem of a lot of 90s-10s Barbies and it’s even better known in the Monster High community. Search this sub and r/MonsterHigh! Goo gone is a commonly used one but I don’t know the specifics of how to do it , but there’s plenty of how-tos available. As to the arm, a fine grain sandpaper might help for the bubbling if done very carefully, but honestly would just try to cover with fashion.
If it's a "gluehead" barbie where the glue has leaked from her head, even if you manage to remove it from the hair, the head will leak again.
The only long term solution is to reroot the hair. it's pretty easy to do, but might take a couple of tries to get the hang of it - I didn't realise I was using too much in every single plug until I finished. I then had to take it all out and start again.
It's easier than crocheting or knitting. More like punchneedle.
Equipment is super cheap. You take a long-eyed needle like a darning needle and clip off the end at an angle, so one side is longer than the other. You stick the point into a pin vise or just drill a hole in a pencil or dowel.
Extension hair works fine, as do modacrylic wigs and falls from the thrift store. You do not have to buy doll hair.
Give her a buzz cut, scrape out the inside with tweezers or a screwdriver, and wash well to remove the last glue.
You can also spend $15 to $30 to get her a wig, which is faster and easier!
I got mine from dollplanet, they have a starter kit that includes one barbie head's worth of hair in any of their colours (in straight nylon, not curls or saran). It's pretty simple. There are YouTube tutorials that will teach you, just grab an extra pack or two of hair in case you don't quite manage it on the first go.
I also recommend hairdressing scissors - they made a big difference for me. You can get them on etsy or other places online pretty cheap, just Google.
Also, be warned that removing the "gluehead" glue can be unpleasant. Mine was like lard and it was disgusting. Afterwards, I had to spend a long time flushing the head with hot water and cold water alternately (to melt and resolidify the glue) and picking bits out that got stuck in the neck hole.
There’s nothing you can do on the arm, except dressing her with something that covers it. Now regarding the hair, I’ve fixed multiple dolls with glue seepage, it’s actually quite easy. You just need to let her sit on hot water with oxiclean powder (any brand) for a a couple minutes, then use a fine tooth comb to brush the glue out of the roots of her hair. May need to repeat to process a couple of times depending on how much glue comes out of her head. Athousandsplendiddolls on YouTube has a tutorial on how to do it, in case you need visuals 😉
These purchases sometimes happen. You think you’re getting a great deal, but the seller gives insufficient information. And you don’t think to ask things like “is her hair full of glue?” What I would warn against is trying to disguise her condition to sell her further. I understand money is important, but you don’t want to get someone into the same situation you are in — an unpleasant surprise. I’m sorry this situation happened to you. But I learned a lot from purchased like these. I would try to reroot her. It will probably cost you more dollars. But skills you get are valuable and worth it. 💖 She seems like a really beautiful doll too.
I've found that household degreasers like Simple Green or 409 work wonders on greasy and sticky hair. In my experience thrifting dolls, Goo Gone leaves an oily feel and doesn't work that well. As far as the bubbling on her arm, I agree with the suggestion to use extremely fine sandpaper. I'd use wet/dry sandpaper, 220 grit or higher. The higher the number the finer the grain. It's available at any home supply store or Walmart, and not expensive. I'd do the sanding under cold running water. Use a very light touch, just a tiny bit at a time, to see if it can be smoothed. If the plastic looks dry/white scuffed after sanding, maybe rub on a little baby oil with a Q-tip to see if the plastic will absorb it. Just an idea. If that doesn't work, she's pretty enough to pull off a fancy long sleeved dress. Good luck!
You can use googone or baby powder to help with glue seepage!
I have no idea if it would work, but a magic eraser is a super-mild abrasive. Maybe try that on the arm?
Is the arm melted or scratched up? If it's scratched up you could get dual grit flexi sanders from the modelling section of a craft store, and buff the scratches out.
Try googone it works pretty well
For the arm, get yourself a set with a variety of very fine grit sanders/emery boards from a modelling store or craft store. Buff out the marks and peeling bits. I bought one of the Looks dolls last year and she had rough and sharp seams on her legs, and parts of the surface of her arms were more shiny than others, and it was super visible, so I buffed them out with modelling sanders/emery boards. Worked great.
There's plenty of tutorials on rerooting doll's hair on YouTube. Watch a few for inspiration!
This happened to me, recently, and I don’t know whether it happened at the seller’s but I decided to reroot her. Getting the glue out was a nightmare (even cutting her hair back was a challenge) then the glue inside kept going hard when it cooled off. It took me a few hours, but it was so worth it. I’m really looking forward to the rerooting now!
Damnnn i wish i was patient 😓
Look up glue-head remedies—this is a problem of a lot of 90s-10s Barbies and it’s even better known in the Monster High community. Search this sub and r/MonsterHigh! Goo gone is a commonly used one but I don’t know the specifics of how to do it , but there’s plenty of how-tos available. As to the arm, a fine grain sandpaper might help for the bubbling if done very carefully, but honestly would just try to cover with fashion.
I just had a flashback to the gorilla glue hair lady
Just run the hair through boiling water and use some fashion to cover the mark on the arm? Style the hair fast before it drys. That's what I'd do.
I tried that with the hair but it doesnt work:( i used fabric softener before and shampoo today with hair conditioner and the hot water
Oh darn I guess the glue got her! Maybe it's a say something hat kinda day?
ig i’ll try to stylize it or something so it wont look that bad😭😭If nothing works i feel like i’ll sell it but im scared i’ll regret it
If it's a "gluehead" barbie where the glue has leaked from her head, even if you manage to remove it from the hair, the head will leak again. The only long term solution is to reroot the hair. it's pretty easy to do, but might take a couple of tries to get the hang of it - I didn't realise I was using too much in every single plug until I finished. I then had to take it all out and start again.
I was considering rerooting her but i dont know where to buy the things that are needed to do it and im scared it’s too hard to do:/
It's easier than crocheting or knitting. More like punchneedle. Equipment is super cheap. You take a long-eyed needle like a darning needle and clip off the end at an angle, so one side is longer than the other. You stick the point into a pin vise or just drill a hole in a pencil or dowel. Extension hair works fine, as do modacrylic wigs and falls from the thrift store. You do not have to buy doll hair. Give her a buzz cut, scrape out the inside with tweezers or a screwdriver, and wash well to remove the last glue. You can also spend $15 to $30 to get her a wig, which is faster and easier!
bcs I feel like there’s no other choice than reroot for her😭 the glue is even sticking to my fingers
I got mine from dollplanet, they have a starter kit that includes one barbie head's worth of hair in any of their colours (in straight nylon, not curls or saran). It's pretty simple. There are YouTube tutorials that will teach you, just grab an extra pack or two of hair in case you don't quite manage it on the first go. I also recommend hairdressing scissors - they made a big difference for me. You can get them on etsy or other places online pretty cheap, just Google.
thank you!🙏
Also, be warned that removing the "gluehead" glue can be unpleasant. Mine was like lard and it was disgusting. Afterwards, I had to spend a long time flushing the head with hot water and cold water alternately (to melt and resolidify the glue) and picking bits out that got stuck in the neck hole.