Patrick's column with tips on vinyl stain removal

Good Day All! Sasha says it's my turn to have a go at the Blog. I'm not the fastest typist, but with Gregor running the mouse here, we make a pretty good team. My name is Patrick Terrence. I was manufactured in England, but my red hair proves I must have some Irish or Scottish relatives somewhere. I'm known as a “blue cord Gregor,” produced between 1982-1986. I was introduced at the same time as Sasha Sweater, the only short-haired girl produced by Trendon. You'll see in the photo that I'm not wearing my original white shoes, but am sporting a very cool pair of sandals instead. MamaT purchased me from a nice lady on the Sasha-L list. Well that's not very specific. I think all the folks on the Sasha-L list are the nicest of people. It was actually Carolyn Campbell, a very fine knitter of Sasha clothes. I didn't belong to Carolyn, but to another friend of hers. Here is Carolyn's website.

http://www.picturetrail.com/carolynsdollknits

I have white arm stringing and brown leg stringing. MamaT was forewarned I had a few flaws before she purchased me, and I arrived just as I had been described. My arm stringing was perfect, but my leg stringing was strunk. Hmmm. That's probably not a real word. My leg stringing was permanently stretched to its maximum length with no more give left in it whatsoever. I think strunk would be a good word for that. I couldn't keep my head on at all, and the strings extended a few inches past my leg joints. You could say I was one loose goose. So I was in serious need of new stringing before I could be displayed. Sasha will be devoting a whole entry to the process of stringing in the near future, so I am not going to go into that today.

I also arrived with some stains on my clothes and on my feet. An excellent reference for doll care is found at Suzanne Lewis' site (already referred to several times on this blog). There are recommendations both for cleaning clothing and vinyl stain removal, and this is what MamaT followed to clean me up. Here's the link to the cleaning instructions.

http://www.sashadoll.com/repair/help.html

There are a lot of references to products by “Twin Pines of Maine.” They specialize in cleaning products for a collectibles and dolls. Here is a link to their website if you want to order any of their products.

http://www.twinpines.com/

The vinyl stain removal technique was especially impressive. I had purple spots on my feet and lines around my ankles that looked like ink stains. I think I remember having a pair of shoes with dye that bled onto my feet. MamaT wrapped me in a towel and used a generic tube of 10% benzoyl peroxide (BP) cream, applying it with a toothpick to the stains. Heat makes the stain removal process work faster, but you don't want to get our vinyl so warm that it gets soft, so you have to be cautious. MamaT couldn't watch me all the time, so she just put me near a low temperature heat source for a short while (maybe 30 minutes or so) in the morning, again in the late afternoon, and once more just before bedtime. Under a lamp with a warm light bulb would work well. Sunshine would work too when it's available, but you wouldn't want to leave a doll in direct sunlight. That gives us headaches you know. She'd check me frequently while I was near the heat and didn't let me get too close to it. She put fresh BP cream on every 24 hours or so. It can lighten the vinyl slightly, so you don't want to run the treatment too long, and you should wash the vinyl well when you're done, but it is better than having stains. We only wish we had taken before and after pictures, because the treatment worked extremely well. I've heard that this treatment does not work so well on the green stains left by corroded snaps.

So with new stringing, clean clothes, and no more embarrassing stains on my feet, I feel like a new man, or at least a new doll, and I must say I do look good posing with any of the Sasha girls. Once again, I hope you all have a great day! --Patrick Terrence