How To Remove Scratches From Plastic Eyes On Favourite Soft Toys
Plush soft toys are generally long-lasting, but favourites can come in for a lot of rough play and this can lead to plastic or resin eyes becoming scratched. Here's how to put right the damage and return your kids' much-loved plushies to their bright-eyed best.
What you'll need
- washing-up liquid
- warm water
- soft cloths
- cotton buds
- tooth paste (not gel)
- Liquid floor polish (clear, not tinted)
- small paintbrush
How to do it
- Before you can start to repair the damage to the soft toy's eyes, you'll need to remove any surface dirt. To do this, make up a weak solution of washing-up liquid and warm water. Dip a soft cloth into the solution and use it to carefully wipe the eyes. This should shift any accumulated grime and will reveal the damage more clearly.
- Dry the eyes thoroughly with a clean, soft cloth or a duster.
- Next, take a clean cotton bud and dip it into a small amount of toothpaste. You must use toothpaste for this, rather than tooth gel. This is because toothpaste contains micro-beads that give it a slightly abrasive quality; gel doesn't generally have this included in its formulation.
- Apply the toothpaste to the toy's eyes, working in circular motions, right to the edge of each eye.
- Now, use a clean, damp cloth to wipe away the toothpaste in a circular polishing motion. Dry the eyes with a clean cloth.
- If any toothpaste has spread onto the plush toy's fabric, use a dampened cotton bud to remove it. When the fabric is dry, use your fingers to fluff it up again.
- The scratches should now be gone and the eyes should look brighter again. To finish the job take a small amount of liquid floor polish and apply it to the eyes, using a small paintbrush. Allow the polish to dry.
- When the polish is dry, use a soft cloth to polish it up to a high gloss.
If your kids' favourite soft plush toys have sustained scratches to their eyes, leaving them looking dull and dead, you can easily and quickly return their brightness by following the method outlined above.
Old toys whose eyes have worked loose and might come out during play could present a danger to your child and should be replaced for safety reasons. In this case, why not sit down with your child and check out a soft toy distributor's website to see what new toys are available?
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