Mego Central Tips and Tricks for Restoring Your Beloved Action Figures and Dolls

The Amazing Clearasil Trick for Removing All Kinds of Stuff From Vinyl

I came across this tip somewhere on the Internet on a doll restoration site. After reading it, I immediately ran out to the drugstore, bought some Clearasil and tried it on my pile of Bruce Wayne heads. Amazingly, it took out most of the blue. Here's the how-to:

Dab a generous amount of clearasil on the "blemish." Put the doll head in a window and let it sit for a couple of days. The sun seems to activate it. Periodically rinse it off to measure the progress--like once a day--don't obsess! I used this to remove ballpoint ink from a Spiderman head that had been modified; all of the lines had been "enhanced" with ballpoint pen. It took about a month of reapplications to remove it but all of it came out. I've also used it to remove marker and other stains from vinyl. The working time varies although for de-blueing heads, it usually only takes a couple of days.

I've had some success using it on plastics but it's most effective on vinyl.

Avoid using it on painted portions of the vinyl (including eyebrows). It doesn't work on the paint and may damage it.

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you screw up your toys with this method. Just sharing information that has worked for me.