Don't try this unless you are somewhat artistic and are confident of a steady hand. I use nail polish to touch up chips on the lip paint. I use a nail polish that matches the original color almost exactly if I can.

I use a very fine paintbrush to paint the doll's lips. I don't use the nail polish brush, it is not fine enough. I look for the very smallest artist brushes at the craft store. They do not need to be the most expensive brand, the cheap ones will do.

I do make sure to stay inside the original lip line when I am painting. This way the doll will still have the exact same smile she was born with, when I am finished.

I don't like to do repainting. It's extremely difficult to get the polish smooth enough or the strokes professional enough. I only repaint if there are chips or bad rubs or the lip color is very faded so there is no choice but to fix it.

CLEAR POLISH! Sometimes all that is needed is to apply a coat of clear polish and this might brighten up the original paint enough. I have also learned that if I apply a coat of clear polish after I have painted a doll's mouth, it sometimes smooths out my brush strokes and makes my handiwork look better.

GLASS PAINT! This is a new option for painting doll lips. The colors are translucent, so you may need to do several coats on a vintage doll in order to get the right appearance. Glass paint may be a better option if you can find an appropriate color, because nail polish sometimes gums up on the doll and will attract dust and lint.

Copyright (c) 2002, 2003 Cynthia Stevens All rights Reserved