I’ve been making and selling drink and wets for over 4 years…and it’s not simple. The early ones failed a lot. It takes a week to assemble one correctly. It’s much more than sticking a tube inside. I myself do not own one and I have like 25 keepers. I have people that love them for the realistic experience of feeding and changing. Some people have been feeding them daily for years with no problems. I am happy to answer questions for anyone who wants to do this.
Several issues mentioned…No mold happens. It just doesn’t using sunscreen and distilled water as formula with an occasional rinse of vinegar and water…once every few months. This would take care of any clogs that might happen though I don’t know of any.
Also, you mentioned silicone tubing and vinyl tubing. You should never mix the two. Use silicone on a silicone doll only. Silicone and vinyl react badly.
The way I do it, the face and genitals are not damaged. And it is always the final step in making the doll.
I’ve got a BUNCH of questions. Lol!! I’ll start with these ones. What reaction do silicone and vinyl have? Do you actually thread the tube through a boy’s gentiles or do you place it elsewhere? What else goes in there aside from a tube?
Silicone and vinyl…if they touch will cause a chemical reaction that causes both materials to liquify and get sticky. I don’t even use silicone nipples. I hoard vinyl ones and switch them out.
OK…in the beginning I used a reborn doll with a belly plate which is attached permanently with E6000. Then, through a lot of trial and error I found a way to use the full vinyl torso and inner cloth body with success. If you ever come across any of those early videos of mine that may be floating around somewhere…ignore them.
Here is what I do. I finish painting the doll and let it cure for a FULL WEEK. I use airdry and I have no idea how to do this with heat set…although I’m sure it can be done. I seal the parts, root the baby, have everything completely finished…eyes, lashes, eyebrows, etc. Then I cut the hole in the mouth so that it will fit the standard aquarium plastic tubing and pull it all the way through leaving a few inches at the mouth and about a foot out the head opening. I use a skewer to insert globs of E6000 (nothing else will work as good) around the inside of the mouth from the inside of the head. Use lots. Let that sit undisturbed for at least 24 hours. The weight and fill the head, assuming you have already sealed the hair. I drill a hole into an appropriately sized plastic lid and slip the tubing through it and seal the lid onto the inside of the neck. This assures no leaking of anything and secures the mouth tubing even moreso.
Then you attach the cloth body at the neck, cutting a slit for the tubing to exit at the crotch. You slip the torso over this, pull the arm casings through and attach the arms.(assuming they have been filled, weighted, and sealed. Using cable ties, you attach the arms through the vinyl torso making sure you are finding the groove…or the arm will pull off later. It isn’t easy because you can’t see what you’re doing very well. You have to feel what you are doing and it really takes strength for all that pulling and tugging. Next I slip the inner cloth body up high inside out of the way so I can insert the plastic tubing into the genital opening and do the same E6000 trick. This has to be glued secure or the tubing will slip out of place causing a big mess. Boys are easier than girls LOL Wait another 24 hours for the glue to dry completely. Then you pull down the inner cloth body and pull the leg opening through the vinyl leg opening. You stuff the inside with weighting and polyfil exactly as you would a regular reborn. Attach one leg, then stuff as much as you can to the lower torso and attach the last leg. I always love it when I’m on the last leg. LOL I am usually out of breath by this time and feel like I’ve actually given birth.
I think I’ve covered everything. But ask me anything anytime. Good luck.
Oh yes, you trim away the excess tubing at the mouth and genitals’.
@DollChick I like the idea of a D&W. Please let us know how it goes, I’d love to see. I plan on getting one one day. I don’t role play traditionally but I like the idea of having one, I may use it I may not. All of my dolls get changed and sit around looking cute or scary, lol. I do have two that I keep close. To me they are like but better than Teddy Bears. Something soft to hold and cuddle when I am feeling sick or depressed. I love @pschomaker babies, she has come a long way from the begining!
I am an ER nurse. Even though a brush fits through does not mean it will clean the sides. Can actually just press it to the sides. One thing we do with feeding tubes is put a medicine cup of regular coke through the tube. The acid does a better job of cleaning the sides of the tube.
Andrew already has a drink and wet installed. I just didn’t think to protect his face while inserting the tube. The genitals, well, let’s just say they aren’t nearly large enough to hold the 1/4 tubing so things had to happen. Now, he had some reconstructive surgery and is fine now. His face still needs significant repairs. A lot of paint peeled. I have a video of the process but 1. it isn’t how I ended up successfully getting it in there and 2. it is not for the faint of heart… if you are interested in seeing it, I could publish it privately on YouTube and give you the link for access. I don’t really want to post all of that in a public capacity. I mean, on one hand, it would be really nice for other artists because I haven’t found any videos of actually putting the drink and wet in a silicone baby. I just hesitate because it is gruesome. At least to me it is.
The cloth body is inside the vinyl torso. The tubing runs in one piece from the mouth to the outside of the body through the genitals. The water can’t get out of the plastic tubing. Unless you feed the baby a really excessive amount of water only the exterior of the vinyl body is in touch with any dampness at all.
