Guess what… our “old forum” is actually still online… here.
Anyway, I’d just realised that one of my dolls has got that yucky sticky legs stuff and I remembered that there was a posting on how to minimise the problem, so I thought I’d post it here too before it gets lost in cyberspace.
tacky barbies
Q. I have a collection of Barbies from the 70’s, Barbies I played with when I was a little girl, & I have noticed their rubber skin is going tacky (sticky).
How can I overcome this and how should I store them to stop this from happening?
Currently they are all stored together in a cardboard box wrapped in a blanket.
JL 24/06/08
A. I’ve had the same experience with some dolls from the 70s and 80s – some even develop splotching (especially on their legs) depending on the composition of the plastic/vinyl.
I try something which is a variation on some advice I’ve found in regard to vintage dolls -http://collectdolls.about.com/library/weekly/aa081800e.htm – I wash the dolls in a mild soapy water then lightly dust the effected area with talcolm powder to limit the sticky effect.
One of the most important things is to try and keep the dolls separate from each other – the plastics can actually interact off each other.
BM 24/06/08
Actually, the doll of mine with the tacky legs is the Valentines Wishes Barbie of 2001 – guess I’m gonna be adding talcolm powder to my shopping list…
Ebay Item #110280336357
Tags: restoration