I’m brand new to the reborn doll world. My little 9 year old girl is obsessed with reborn’s and won a kit at a doll show. I’m putting the supplies together to help her build it and we’re watching youtube videos but I’m nervous. I want it to work out so she loves it. I got a basic set of Genesis paints but didn’t realize you need to mix them with something other than water to sponge on. I’m not sure what I need, can anyone help? Also, I just paid $9.95 shipping on a $8.50 order for a few more basic items. I’m hoping I can find whatever I need to add to the paint locally. I wish the paints came with some instructions.
Thanks in advance!
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Welcome to the forum. 
Most members here are artists and should certainly be able to help you.
Welcome, A good place to start is customdollbaby.com. She has free videos from start to finish called reborn with me. Very helpful!
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You’ll also need a NuWave oven to bake the parts in. It’s not safe to bake them in the oven you cook your food in.
Maybe you should try air dry paints. I use Liquitex Professional and I only add distilled water and a small amount of Liquitex Ultra Matte medium to the paint.
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Thank you. I totally would have just baked them in my regular oven.
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Most people mix their Genesis with artist grade odorless thinner to thin them. Honestly, I would not allow my child to handle that as it is a chemical. Genesis has a non-toxic Genesis thinner that can be used but it is not watery like odorless thinner. It is more of a paste like gel. There is one product to consider that would IMO be safer than odorless thinner yet works as well but cost a little more. It is
Personally I would put my kid onto using air dry paints but since you already have the Genesis those are the 2 best options I would recomend for thinning them.
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I’ve never heard of this. Do you think it would be safer than Gamsol?
PMd you.
What Skylar said. I totally agree.
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If you have a Michaels, go get some gamosol or Mona Lisa paint thinner. You can you a generic oven. Something like this. It’s cheaper n a lil smaller than a nuwave. If you can find a used one that would be great. You will also need a thermometer to place in the oven. Make sure it has an extender ring.
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I have not tried Gamsol. The reason I quit using Genesis all the time was the odorless mineral spirits made my throat burn. I use some Zest it a long time ago, which is a citrus thinner and it did not bother me but was expensive and hard to come by in the US. Since then the Eco House has become available and I was planning to get some of it for when I do use Genesis occasionally. The Gamsol does sound better than other OMS brands but I still would be cautious about letting a kid handle it.
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Vinyl is really toxic when heated up so definitely don’t use your kitchen oven! I seriously wish this fact was more broadly advertised because we’re talking about cancer-causing fumes!
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Gotcha. I’m not sensitive to any of the thinners, but I know the Gamsol is safer so that is what I use. I was curious if maybe the citrus thinner was even safer, but it doesn’t sound like there is a clear way to know.
Guys, this poster is brand new and trying the painting process for the first time with a young kid.
Any other ways we can help out?
Doesn’t the oven need a towel at the bottom or something to keep the vinyl from touching the sides of the oven?
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Honestly if you only plan to make one doll I wouldn’t invest in all the stuff to do it. Lol. But that’s just me. I would be sending it to an artist to paint. Reborning isn’t a simple craft. Contrary to popular opinion.
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Also, it takes lots of thin layers to see much of a difference. Many, many thin layers with subtle differences as you go. You won’t get the instant gratification of color like acrylic craft paint on canvas.
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