Here are some ways to know if your silicone is tin

[KrisC]

I've been reading a lot of posts recently on silicone dolls breaking down. Like a finger coming off or holes in the leg or one day picking up your doll and the head rolls off from the base.
Most of this is happening to the earlier silicone dolls.
I think we all need to be educated on WHY they are breaking down.

Platinum silicone (WITHOUT additives) have a very very very long shelf life... like 80 plus years so the experts tell me... maybe even longer.
Tin based silicone has a shelf life of 10yrs ... give or take.
Platinum as an extremely HIGH tear resistance...you can tug and tug and you wont tear it (please dont test this out on your expensive dolls).
Tin can tear quite easily when aged.

A lot (I say that loosely as I dont know ALL the silicone dolls out there) of the earlier silicone dolls out there seem to have been poured in tin or a tin based, even when claimed to be platinum. I dont know why... maybe because that was all that was available at the time... or maybe to skip on costs... I dont know why and I am not gonna point fingers at who did that and why....

I just think we all need to be educated on why they are breaking down so we dont lay blame on false reasons or sell them under false pretenses.

Here are some POSSIBLE ways to know its tin:

it smells like vinegar or has a strong odor
it leeches oil or is slick to touch
its hard, dry and breaks or tears when you bend a finger, toes or joint
it starts getting holes in it (some have blamed it on mice or bugs... but most times its not, ESPECIALLY when you KNOW there are no mice in your house and all your other silicones are totally fine...)

but the EXACT way to know is if you mix A and B platinum silicone and paint a patch on it and if the platinum DOESNT cure on the silicone, its a tin based doll. If you want to do this, test the dolls inside cap piece on a limb.

Is there an exception to these rules????... yes, of course. You may have mice. You may have whipped that limb out of the sleeve and torn a joint. You may paint a little patch with platinum and it doesnt stick so well... but I urge you to try another spot and see.. cause if it doesnt stick on that piece, your coming up strong with the conclusion of tin.

I hope this helps all of us. I sure wish I knew this a while back as I have bought some babies that were falling apart with the idea I could fix them... and I had to learn the hard and EXPENSIVE way, that I could not as they were all tin.

[Barbara L.]

That is some great information to know, Kris.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know what you
found out.
I am going to look over my dolls and see what I have.

[lauraslilones]

This is great information!! I tried to paint my silicone Nadia years ago and only the teeniest bit actually cured after a week!! I would love Nadia again but not if she is going to disintegrate xxx

[KrisC]

Thought the same thing. My Nadia was tin.

This is great information!! I tried to paint my silicone Nadia years ago and only the teeniest bit actually cured after a week!! I would love Nadia again but not if she is going to disintegrate xxx

[lauraslilones]

Thought the same thing. My Nadia was tin.

This is great information!! I tried to paint my silicone Nadia years ago and only the teeniest bit actually cured after a week!! I would love Nadia again but not if she is going to disintegrate xxx

Mine was 2007 so presume she was too, shame because she was beautiful xx

[Annette]

Thankyou so much, Kris, for this invaluable information.
There may be more tin based silicone babies out there than we imagine.

[Desma]

Great information to know that. I have two full body silicone babies and one with a cloth body. Fortunately, they are good quality.

[Rhonda W]

I don't think anyone knows for sure what the dolls are mixed with being tin, ecoflex, or platinum. I have early tin babies that are just fine and have had a regular silicone disintegrate. There's been much said about this subject in the past. I have been told by a very reputable person that some of the new ecoflex will break down over time, do we know the real answer not yet as not enough time has passed. I know my regular firmer platinum silicone babies seem to do the best and I think they will long term as well. The newer silicone's I'm just not sure. Some babies are sticky due to the top coat as well and may not be tin.

Kris putting the silicone paint on the babies is a great idea as you do know immediately if it is a tin baby. May of us true collectors have lots of early tin babies in our collections now that have no value even though there is nothing wrong with them at the moment. This is a valid concern about buying any new silicone doll buy them because you love it not because you want your money back as most likely you will either lose money or the silicone will eventually have a problem. Like my husband says it's like anything if you get enjoyment from the doll enjoy it for as long as it holds up.

Silicone is what it is a chemical and chemicals break down over time. Look at old vinyl dolls they get hard and discolor. In 50 years we will know which ones will hold up, until then we just enjoy what we have. There is no perfect silicone baby.

[tuckerk]

Thanks Kris................great to know..............I don't think I have any silicone made with tin.......I would love to know some sculpts that were made with the tin in the silicone......Hugs, Kathy

[Court_LLRN]

Wonderful information! To be honest, I just haven't trusted any older silicone. I've had a few in the past but they always just seemed so fragile to me. I did actually find out that the ones I've had, other people had complained about these particular artists' silicones falling apart.