There are two methods of matting Blythe; sanding or spraying.
Sanding Vs. Spraying
Spray matting involves removing Blythe’s face plate and spraying a fine mist of “matting spray” over her face. this technique will preserve stock makeup under the spray, but the downside is that in time, the sprayed finish is likely to become dirty with regular handling, and scratches easily. It is near-impossible to clean or patch up. If you ever decide to remove the matte spray, you will also have to remove the original makeup. Spray matting is best for display dolls. If you plan on spray-matting, invest in a bottle of Mr. Super Clear.
At PuchiCollective, we prefer sand-matting, because little smudges and scratches can just be re-sanded, making this the best option for dolls that are regularly played with.
Sand-Matting Tips
Sanding can be done on an unopened girl very carefully but it’s much easier to do if you have her taken apart, eye mechanism out, and can just hold the face piece by itself. If you do sand her unopened head, put two small triangles of plain paper into her eye sockets to protect her eye mechanism from dust and scratches.
You will need a pair of sanding sponges in fine and extra-fine (300-grit and up). We exclusively use Norton 3x Sanding sponges.
Cut the sponges into small rectangles so they are easy to hold.
Start sanding her face with the fine sanding sponge in circular motions. (grit-classifications vary from brand to brand. test your sponge on the back of her head first. if you see scratches or swirl marks, your sponge is too coarse.Continue in small circular motions all over her face, on her cheeks, forehead, chin. Be careful not to sand so hard and fast that she loses her features. you want her face contours to stay the same, but just lose the shiny layer. Pay attention to the nostrils and lip edges. cut your sponge into smaller peices to get into tight spaces. If you sand very carefully around the lips and eyeshadow you can matte her without losing that makeup. You will lose her blush though.- Don’t forget to sand the back of her head. Also, at the edges of the seam it can be a little resistant to losing the shine, so pay particular attention on those edges if you want to do a perfect job!
After finishing her head with your fine sponge, go over her whole head with the extra-fine sponge. This will give her a flawless, scratch-free finish.
you can make her semi-matte by following all the above steps, and then gently rubbing her face with a soft t-shirt to bring back a little shine- the sanded surface is the perfect base for pastel makeup
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what is the reason for sand matting a Blythe? Is it because people do not prefer the skin finish on the face, or just to clean marks and bumps~ thank you!
liz -
The earliest takaras had matte skin. Some people prefer the look. Some think it photographs better. it also makes a better surface for applying pastel and airbrush makeup, because it gives the skin a “tooth” for the makeup to grab onto.
I want to sand because I don’t want her face to be reflective. Look at a bunch of Blythe photos and you will see where her face is shiny, you lose the beauty of her face…it just reflects glare.
I bought my Blythe purely for photography purposes so i’d like her face to have a matt finish, but i’m too scared to do it myself as i don’t wanna break her and waste alot of money. Is there anywhere i can get this done which won’t be too expensive? thanks x
I have been having a difficult time finding both the Fine and Extra Fine Norton 3X sponges. Is there a known source online? Is there another brand that works as well?
I just googled “norton 3x sanding sponge fine” and this result came up pretty high:
http://paint-and-supplies.hardwarestore.com/50-268-sanding-sponges/sanding-sponge-101887.aspx
you will need the yellow “very fine” and the red “fine”
Hi there. I’m not sure if this is where I would ask this question. But…I am getting a Kenner (who I have not seen in person yet) who has REALLY bad yellow discoloration on one side of her face. It’s really obvious and I am wondering what steps I should take to get her skin tone evened out. Thanks!
hi anna. do you have a picture of your future girl? yellowing can be one of the hardest problems to correct - sometimes it is very deep in the plastic.
You also might want to read through my latest article, here
Hello
I also want to sand a face,but don’t know where I can buy the sabding sponges,I live in the Netherlands (europe) and we don’t have it here.
maybe you can help me.
This was a very helpfull guide when my friend and I were sand-matting my first Blythe (RRe) but she introduced me to steel wool as an alternative to sanding sponge, it’s a lot lighter, but it doesn’t do the full job so I would reccomend (if it’s ok) that if anyone wanted to sand matte just to get the shine off, steel wool is a good choice. =D
(p.s. luuuuv the website. )
hi! i am getting my first blythe
and i am planning on customizing it and sand matting to the point where the makeup comes off, so i was wondering how and what you use to do their makeup :3
Sammy - check out our tutorial on Pastel Makeup - it’s great for just starting out with customizing blythe. the pros use Airbrushed acrylic paints.
Hi!
Please help me
if this sponge is ok: Norton flexible sanding sponges - Fine Grit
and can we mix matte spray with sanding sponges
i’ve bought customized doll but the effect of the spray was poor and there are some scratches
hi
i was wonduring if i could use the “eggshell” finish as a base for pastels
I’ve got the same problem as Tea up here! What else could we use to sand-matting??
salut!
umn .. so if you sand-matt a girleh’s face.. does that get rid of all the face-up? :S
step 4: “If you sand very carefully around the lips and eyeshadow you can matte her without losing that makeup. You will lose her blush though.”
If you must preserve the makeup, but want a matte finish, use a matte spray. be warned that it will not look perfect forever, and when you remove it, the makeup will come with it.
Hiii! I recently received my first girl, and I bought some 400 and 320 grit sand paper, I think 3m’s Sandblaster? Anyway, I tried sanding the back of her head, and the very middle of it was a nice matte, but around it was the whole cirle light scratch marks. For some reason, though, I thought I could try and get that matte anyway, and tried it on a portion of her face. Anyway, she can cover it with her beautiful hair and everything, but if I order the Norton sandpaper and try and sand over it, will it look okay or will it be, I don’t know, like a little lower then the rest of her face once it’s all matted? Thanks!
Hi Laura,
The norton sponges should correct the problem. Start with the red one until you can’t see the scratches anymore, then finish up with the yellow. I don’t think you will see a noticeable difference in the shape of her face, unless you have already sanded very deeply with the sandblasters.
Would any brand of 150 grit and 320 grit sanding sponges work even if they are not Norton brand?
the tough thing about sponges is that the grit ratings are less consistent than with paper. I find the norton 350 sponges to be closer to 450 or 500 grit paper. So, other brands might work, or they might be too coarse - always test on the back half or the inside of the faceplate to see if you are happy with the results before sanding her face.
Good luck!
Does anyobe have any tips on how to remove Blythe’s lipstick, I am having trouble getting off the last bit between her lips with sanding.
Thanks
Where can you get those Sanding sponges from? Any UK websites?
Thank you
x
Hello!
This tut really helped alot. Many thanks
hi!
Really nice tutorial. BUT i’m wondering are there also ways to give a blythe doll a different face up if she still has a shiny face? I came across a picture of a blythedoll with shiny face ánd really nice make up on. It said that it was customized. I’m wondering how it was done?
thanks in advance!
so is 3M-320grit-SandBlaster-Between-Coats-Sanding-Pads not the same?
mandy,
I have tried those, they are way more coarse than the norton 3x.
Melissa, thanks!
Do you know any good sites that will ship to England of 3M ones?
thanks again!
Blythe looks like she has an oily complexion and needs those blotting papers for the face! I’m going to try this sand matting. Thanks for the tutorial.
I was wondering if sanding a tanned Blythe is safe? Like will it be lighter under the surface, or is it harder to get consistent color after sanding? I have a Primadolly Ebony and I’ve been thinking of changing her look. ^^;
Thanks!
Kim - Factory-produced “tanned” girls are tanned all the way through their plastic - you can sand them like normal-skinned blythes and they look fine. I sand-matted my CG and PD2E with great results.
Thank you Melissa!