Avoid
Acetone and Super Glue!

AVOID NAIL POLISH REMOVER! Ordinary nail polish remover contains acetone. This chemical can damage plastics and vinyl. I use non-acetone nail polish remover.

USE ALCOHOL OR PLASTIC CLEANER for blending colors on vinyl dolls, rather than Acetone. I use Plastic Cleaner which is available in my doll shop and has a zillion essential uses. Plastic Cleaner is much safer for dolls than acetone. Alcohol will work but Plastic Cleaner is better.

ACETONE WILL DAMAGE DOLL EYES and make them cloudy. If you do damage the doll eyes, you can brighten them again with clear nail polish. Otherwise don't use nail polish on your doll's eyes.

NAIL POLISH IS NOT RECOMMENDED for glueing eyelashes on dolls. There are other glues which are more effective and less likely to cause problems. Clear nail polish does not make the best glue and if something goes wrong you have to clean it off with solvents that may damage the eye.

Aleene's glue is generally recommended for eyelashes. It dries clear and is safe for doll eyes. Elmer's All Purpose glue is also recommended (not school glue.)

NO SUPER GLUE! Avoid using Super Glue on dolls because it can damage doll eyes also, and some kinds of plastics and acrylics. It will melt most doll eyes. I used superglue to repair the cord on a talking doll and it melted the knot and I lost her string when it zipped inside. So don't use superglue around dolls. I don't buy it. If it's good for something I don't know what, I have other favorites in my glue drawer now.

MODEL GLUE can be as destructive as superglue so be careful how and where you use it.

NO to HOT GLUE!! Hot glue does not stick to vinyl or plastic very well. Especially vinyl, it comes off within minutes or hours even if it seems like it stuck at first: it won't last. I like hot glue for use with fabrics but never with vinyl.

WHAT WE DO RECOMMEND... Aleene's Tacky Glue from Walmart is widely recommended, even by the professional doll companies. Some people tell me that good ol' Elmers All Purpose glue is better than Aleene's.

You can also use a more expensive kind of glue such as E6000 from craft stores, or Liquid Nails in a tube, which can be purchased in hardware stores. E6000 is a very popular craft glue. It is clear and thick. E6000 and Liquid Nails give a very tight bond. I use rubber cement for wigs much of the time. If the doll is intended for play rather than display, I would use E6000 instead.