Guest Author - Susan Kramer

Dolls with porcelain parts need special care. It may be that just part of your doll is porcelain and the rest is cotton with a stuffing or vinyl.

In this article I will talk about cleaning just the porcelain parts of the doll. Go to the main Care and Cleaning of Dolls and Doll Clothing page for more articles on cleaning cotton and vinyl.

By the way, I think of porcelain as the most impervious to water form of ceramic.

I have a Theodor Recknagel antique doll from Germany that has a porcelain head, lower arms, hands and lower legs and feet. The rest of the doll is cotton stuffed with kapok or some other firm substance.

Cleaning this doll was a challenge when I first found her on the back of a shelf in a doll hospital. From the dust on her and her clothing she must have been there many years.

But, nevertheless, I was able to clean her nicely and will share my tips with you.

Take off all the doll clothes to clean separately - read the article in the index linked above on care and cleaning of doll clothes.

Let's start with the head. A doll with a porcelain head may have hand painted features and also, as with my doll, she may have tinted skin achieved by painting a blush on. Also, all the porcelain on the doll may be painted or could be an original gray, as some arms and legs on porcelain dolls are.

Does your doll have a dull or highly polished finish? This makes a difference in how carefully you must proceed in cleaning her. My Theodor Recknagel Doll has a dull finish on her porcelain parts.

As she has a glued on wig, I am careful not to get it wet when cleaning the porcelain.

Start your porcelain cleaning by pointing the hair dryer on her to remove the surface dust - that is the easiest way to proceed. In a pinch you could use the little apparatus that looks like a bulb syringe that is used to clean keyboards. Just squeeze the bulb syringe and a burst of air comes out. Pretty nifty and no addition to global warming.

After your doll has been dusted carefully take a cotton cloth and dip it in water and first blot your doll to see if the paint is going to come off. Safe so far, then put a drop of clear dishwashing liquid on the cloth and with small circle motions work on obvious smudges on the doll.

You must go very slowly and carefully, especially if working with a mixture of materials on your doll like the combination of cotton and porcelain.

Carefully finish the cleaning with clear water to remove any residue of cleaning liquid.

Being porcelain it would be highly unlikely to need a more drastic treatment as this is such a water-resistant substance.

Let your doll dry thoroughly before dressing her up again!

Article by Susan Kramer