How can I remove dust from antique doll clothing?

Question

I have a pre-WWII Japanese Geisha doll that is fixed to her stand. She and her clothing were hand made, and I want to restore her. She is covered in dust, and it's making the colors look faded on her kimono. I've used a makeup brush(bought new just for this project) and a can of air to remove most of it, but there is still a lot that I can't get. Any suggestions on how to remove it without damaging her?

Answer 1

In view of the age and dust condition of the doll, i suggest you only use a soft gentle brush on your doll.

Just tickle off the dust a bit at a time, with a swirling motion of the brush.

Please do not use a vacuum cleaner, as this will dislodge more than the dust, and perhaps ruin your doll, vacuum cleaners have a very powerful suction.

I work in a dolls museum, and we only ever use a soft blusher brush very gently. Sometimes it takes weeks to get all the dust from these beautiful delicate dolls?

Answer 2

If you have a vacuum cleaner with a hose (a shop-vac is probably too harsh, tho), you can consider borrowing a technique that museums sometimes use to clean 100-year-old quilts, and vacuum the doll.

Cut a piece of fiberglass (no metal!) screening at least 6" square (a square bigger than the height of the doll is better protection) and bind the edges with masking tape, making sure there are no 'wires' poking through. Put a new bag in the vac, put the dusting brush attachment (make sure it's clean, tho) on the vac's hose and set the suction to be as gentle as possible. Press the piece of screen gently but securely on a section of the doll (you may need a second person to help steady her), and slowly bring the vacuum nozzle near the screen. Press the screen firmly enough to hold everything in place but not so hard you damage the doll. The screen holds any loose bits in place and protects the doll and clothes. You can move the brush slowly over the screen (but not very close to the edges) as long as everything is ok on the doll. Stop immediately if anything seems to be coming loose or there's any kind of problem. Turn the vac off and reposition the piece of screen as needed. Work your way over the parts of the doll you want to clean, being extra-careful near the hair and face. If the hair seems to want to move much, you can carefully tie a piece of gauze, cheesecloth, or nylon stocking around it first.

Quilt conservators say vacuuming can remove 75-90% of the dust and dirt on an old quilt, so it should help the doll quite a bit, too. Good luck.

Answer 3

When I was much  younger my parents did a lot of crafting with stained glass.  One of their projects was to make a display case for a doll just like you described, which my uncle owned.  Once the case was made my mom had the chore of cleaning the doll before it was enclosed in the case.

Back then the cosmetic brush was available but the canned air was not so my mom used an infants nasal aspirator (the blue bulb thing used to clean the mucus out of an infants nose when they have a cold.)  I seem to recall that this worked quite well.  For the really hard to reach areas my mom purchase a contour eye shadow brush.  The bristles were stiffer then a regular eye shadow brush, and the whole shape was kind of like a wedge.  The bristles at one end were shorter then the bristles at the other end.

I am also thinking that a tiny stencil brush might work, but only if the fabric of the dolls clothing is in really good shape.

Good Luck