My antique doll, Kitty, had a unique experience when she was scanned by a CT scanner for the Virtual Kitty project (see Virtual Kitty). Unfortunately, the anti-glare spray used for the scan left a white haze on her face. Here is a photo of Kitty before and after scanning.
I had trouble removing the haze. Finally, I decided to use “Mr. Super Clear,” which has a solvent that was able to dissolve the haze, leaving most of her face paint intact. But it also loosened the glue holding her shoulderhead onto the body. This was the push I needed to do a full makeover of Kitty. To practice techniques, I restored another similar paper mache doll (see Georgina’s Makeover).
Seeing all the cracks in Kitty’s head on the CT scan had made me realize how fragile her head actually was. Here is a photo of the underside of her shoulder plate. You can see two large cracks in the front. These cracks were hidden by the strips of fabric which were glued onto her neck.
I carefully removed the fabric strips. I also removed her hair. It was obviously old, but not original to the doll. I used a straight pin to apply Elmer’s Glue to the underside of her shoulder plate, filling in both cracks, and allowed it to dry overnight.
I was pleased with how well the glue strengthened her shoulder plate. The next step was restoring the cracks on the outside. I decided to use Apoxi Sculpt as a filler, since it worked so well for Georgina. I mixed up a small amount and smoothed it over her cracks. Kitty also had little bits missing from the tip of her nose and her chin, so I put tiny dots of the clay on those areas. After all that dried, I mixed up a second batch of clay to fill the cracks in the top of her head.
Painting came next. I applied thinned goache and acrylic paints in multiple successive layers, blending the colors to match Kitty’s original paint. I mostly left her face alone, except for touching up her cheeks, lips and right eye, which was a bit faded. Next, I sprayed her with “Mr. Super Clear” to seal the paint, before applying the final coat of shellac. (Since shellac has alcohol in it, using it on the freshly painted areas before sealing might have removed some of the color.) In this photo you can see the stages of painting.
Here is Kitty’s head, fully restored and looking great! Click to see the video.
Next, I turned my attention to her body. Here is what it looked like without the shoulderhead attached.
I used Elmer’s Glue to reattach her head. Unlike Georgina, Kitty’s body was in decent shape. I did not see any areas that were leaking stuffing, but the crotch seam appeared fragile. I needed a way to keep her body intact without making any permanent alterations. My solution… sew her a bodysuit. I used a stretchy nylon spandex knit, often used as swimsuit liner. The khaki color matched nicely, and it reinforced all her seams without causing undue stress to her construction. I signed the back of the bodysuit with the date of Kitty’s restoration.
Now Kitty’s restoration is complete. I gave her back the mohair wig I had made for her and dressed her in her favorite silk paletot and skirt. I think she looks pretty good for someone who is 150+ years old, don’t you?
