Salvaging a damaged face up?

Marya has arrived, and as described in the Ebay listing, her face up has rubbed off on the side near her eye, and on her cheeks. She is also stained around her wig line and a bit on her ears. The eyes, lips and eyebrows are intact, but there is a noticeable difference in colour where the coating has rubbed off, and it's not on part of the head that I can hide.

 

I really want to salvage the face up, as it was done by Hikaru132, and she's gorgeous (as all his face ups are!). My first instinct is to try remove the blush on that cheek and side, and redo it without damaging the rest of the face, but I worry about my varnish reacting with the existing coat when I try to seal the repair, and whether varnish will have the same matte lustre as the original face up.

 

Has anyone else tried to save a damaged face up? Any hints and tricks?

 

If I can't salvage her current face up I'll wipe her and do my own, but I'm hoping that beautiful face can be saved.

I haven't tried to salvage a faceup before. I think it would be hard to redo the blush and get the right color. I agree that Hikaru132 is fantastic. I would send her back to him to fix her. He has quite a long waiting list though.

I have not had much luck with partial re-dos. When using the Windsor and Newton brush cleaner to take off the sealant, it tends to leave any partially removed sealant as a sticky and gummy mess. Possibly you can re-seal over it but there may be some unevenness to the surface, not ideal for blushed cheeks. You could try experimenting on a blank head, but it may be better left to a pro.

I'll test my repair technique on the back of her head, but I think I will probably end up wiping the face up and doing my own. I have a good idea of what I want her character to be, and although it'll never look as professional and flawless as the Hikaru132 face up, a part of me is looking forward to testing new looks on the Marya mold. I also don't want to send her away now I have her, and I've done face ups before, so fingers crossed. Thanks for the advice! Once I can post pictures I'll give an update on how the repair goes.

I hate to say it, but there's really no way to blend the removed edge seamlessly. You can always reseal it but if you're picky then I can almost promise you that you'll notice the line. I'd have her face wiped and do you own thing or pay someone else to do it. Halcyon has a wonderful face-ups artist too- they are a bit expensive and non-traditional but the results are exquisite.

 

http://www.dollfiedreams.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=182

I manage to save the face up!!!!!

 

In every place the face up had rubbed off there was a ridge around the bare area. I used a really really fine grit sandpaper to wet sand each ridge off and smooth that area. While I was at it I also sanded off some marks on the sealant on the side of her head, and some worn in grubbiness on her nose. I then resealed with a matte varnish. After it dried I matched the blush on the cheek with a mix of terracotta, pink and yellow chalks, and redid the blush where it had rubbed of. The other hole was in a blank part of her face, and didn't need reblushing.

 

I then resealed again, and I've just applied gloss to her lips and the very inside of her eyes (I like a slight shinyness around the eyes). I've loss most of the original gloss that was on the pink pearl paint on the eyelids, but the pretty pearl effect has stayed here and on the lips, and I like the slightly more muted, soft look on the eyes that the matte varnish has given her.

 

I've got 4 more post til I can update this thread with a picture! I can't wait til the gloss dries and I can put her eyes in (5 more hours >.<).

 

As you might expect, the marks are not completely invisible, but far less marring than they were. You'd have to be looking really hard (knowing where to look, moving the face around in the light, squinting etc) to notice them . I am still tempted to redo her face up one day (maybe once I know her character better) but I am really pleased with how she looks now

Congratulations, Till Troll! That is fantastic you saved her. I can't wait to see her new look!