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Vintage Barbie Doll
I am preparing to post for sale a vintage Barbie doll, however, she has green staining from her earrings on both ears. How can I clean that off?
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I am preparing to post for sale a vintage Barbie doll, however, she has green staining from her earrings on both ears. How can I clean that off?
kh-vince
·2 years agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
shirleys809304
·3 years agoIf the doll still has the earrings in her ears, remove them and place them in a small bag to accompany the doll.
Not sure I would mess with the ears as the method for trying to clear "green ear" can be a bit risky. Days past, one could use CLR (calcium lime remover) because one of the ingredients was acid. The newer CLR no longer has acid as an ingredient. It was a long & tedious procedure to treat the problem. And then it didn't always work.
What causes the "green ear" (and that is what it is called), is the reaction of an ingredient in the doll's vinyl with the metal of the earrings, causing the discoloration. It can't be washed off because it is now in the vinyl itself.
It's like a tarnish embedded in the vinyl.
Best advice I can give you, is to leave the clean up responsibility to the buyer. If they have been collecting older vintage Barbies, they probably have some foreknowledge of what they are dealing with. I have seen "green ear" so bad that it actually oozes and leaves a mess with even dried crusts. Inside the head can be a bigger hidden mess where it begins to get into the hair. The green can travel to the cheeks, lips, eyes. The cleaning process we did back then with the CLR could cause damage to the hair if had to use CLR for long treatment periods. IF the green is that bad, try to remove the mess with soap and water and be done.
I would also advise you to NOT remove the head in order to peek in there and see what is going on. Reason being, these dolls are old and they can easily develop neck tears/splits in the vinyl if you don't know what you are doing. Some vintage Barbies had large neck knobs...so more risk of developing a tear. The older the doll, the smaller neck knob was used. I forget which year the larger knob was used in manufacturing. When I talk vintage, I mean Barbies from 1959-1973.
Advertise your doll as having green ear and take good photos for your listing.
Hope this helps and good luck.
katirbe1
OP3 years agoThank you so much for your very informative response. I am 71 and this was my first Barbie when I was around 8 or 9. It has been in box almost this entire time, but I only recently the ear issue. Great advice! Very much appreciated.
jukeboxron48
·2 years agowell said!!, music is like a time machine bringing us back to good times as well as bad. music is our soul!!
ms.rodriguez*
·3 years agoTry searching on Google. Goodluck.