A New Doll Project: Eye Removal (not for the faint of heart!) :}

*WARNING!!!* If you are extremely sensitive to seeing dolls taken apart, eyeless, wigless, or anything else, SKIP THIS POST!!!

NOTE:  This was an earlier post that I did and was waiting to publish.  Now, I have a newer doll eye removal post with better pics that I'm working on.  Although some of the info may be the same, I figured there was enough here that you might still appreciate this post...if you can stomach it, that is! :}  I should have my new eye removal/swap post up by some time this afternoon.

I finally attempted my very first eye removal on an extremely TLC doll purchased on Bonanza.com.  She was covered in makeup and perfume and some sort of hair product.  What a job!!  After doing lots of research on AG Playthings, I was ready to proceed with the operation! :)

I started by removing the doll's head and turning it upside down in a container that would hold it in place.

I boiled some water...

...and poured it into the empty head.  I set the timer for 3 minutes and waited.

I had two different wooden spoons on hand to use to pop out the eyes.

After 3 minutes, I poured the water out, and the head was squishy enough to remove the eyes (sorry, I didn't get any pics of the actual removal as I was by myself at the time). :(

Here are some pics of the eyes.  They are made up of three parts.  The black plastic backing, the eyeball itself, made of plastic, that has a small weight attached to the bottom, and a lightweight silver ring that holds the pieces together. 

An eyeless AG head...eek!!!  (My daughters get really creeped out by this, so I only do these types of projects after they're in bed or when they're not in the room).

The eyeball itself has two little pegs on either side that fit into two little notches in the black plastic piece. This allows the eye to balance and also allows it to open and close.

The silver piece neatly fits over the entire eye and holds the two other pieces together.

There was sparkly makeup and other gunk on the eyes, so I used some rubbing alcohol to remove it (per an AG Playthings board member's suggestion).

The eyes cleaned up really nicely at first...

...but then they clouded over almost immediately after they were cleaned.  I'm told that either clear fingernail polish or sewing machine oil applied to the eyes is supposed to remove this.  I didn't find out for myself, as I decided to cut my losses with a smelly doll and sell her before I couldn't get my money back.  I've since heard, though, the the person who bought her from me had success removing the cloudiness with clear finger nail polish. 

Note...do NOT use the rubbing alcohol to remove makeup on the eyelid.  It took off the top layer of paint!   :{

Here's a close-up of the closed eye.

And here it is open.

Here are the three separate pieces.  Sorry, stinky Blogger was at it again, uploading my pics sideways!

And just a side note to all of you 18 and under, still living in your parent's houses:  PLEASE talk to your parents first if you're thinking about trying this on one of your dolls.  I would really like to avoid a bunch of irate parents, angry with me for encouraging you to take the eyes out of your precious (and expensive) doll.  I am doing this so that those of us who are courageous enough to try fixing dolls on our own can save a bundle on AG Hospital fees.  But just so you all know, I have not attempted this on ANY of my regular dolls yet, even though I have several with eye problems.  Eye removal can be very risky.  And putting the eyes back in can be very difficult, or so I've heard.  I haven't been brave enough to try it yet! :{

I have 2 AG heads on the way.  One is a very TLC bald Samantha head with brown eyes, and the other is a bald My AG #25 head with no eyes.  As any of you who have read my wish list know, I really like the My AG #25 doll, but I don't have the funds to buy one brand new (and even if I did, I just have a hard time spending $100 on a doll at this stage in my life).  A seller on AG Playthings had #25's head and body for sale, and when I saw the brown eyes for sale in the Sam head, I started putting the pieces together (no pun intended!).  What if I could, over time, gather the pieces I needed to build my own #25?  As long as I did it right, it should work out to be cheaper than a new doll.  And what a fun story it would make! :) 

I narrowly missed purchasing the body that goes with the #25 head (someone on AG Playthings purchased it before I could).  But, as long as the eye swap goes well, I should have a #25 head with eyes after all is said and done.  Now I just have to locate a body and a wig, and I'll be set! :)

I'll keep you all posted on my evil plans! >:)