i got a toy in the mail today that was damaged in the shipping process. a piece broke off. it's a pretty clean break, and can be probably repaired without notice. anyways, i was wondering if the use of super glue to fix it was good or bad for vinyl. any suggestions?

and a word of advice for those selling/trading:
wrapping the toy in bubble wrap is good, but if it is still mobile in the box shit like this happens. i recommend people apply some better packaging techniques. i've had a few pieces in the last couple months show up kinda beat up because of poor packaging....

I had a package with a figure that was broken due to tightly wrapping it in the bubble wrap

I've used super glue on plastics/hard vinyls before only to have the glue turn the material white/bleached around the break. Can't say I've actually used it on soft vinyl though. You might consider something like a 2-part epoxy instead. But I don't know if this would be safer honestly.

I wonder if it be worth buying a similar vinyl in poor shape( for not much $, of course) and test the glue on it first?

I fixed a small broken horn on a vinyl figure with regular liquid krazy glue. It's been a couple months and it still looks fine. I think other people have recommended Zap-a-Gap, esp. if the break is not clean.

I've used superglue on a vinyl that I dropped & broke a piece off.
(Luckily, nothing valuable or precious.)
Not only does it work, but the mend is almost invisible too.

That was a couple of years ago, & there are no side-effects that I've noticed.

Just don't use too much - you don't want any excess creeping out -
and be prepared to apply a fair bit of pressure for a few minutes.

Good Luck ...

As for shipping, in my experience the best thing to do is lightly wrap the figure in bubble wrap and then use a nice thick paper to pad out the rest of the box and keep it from shifting around (I've found disassembled Mandarake shopping bags are PERFECT for this). I've also found that smaller boxes are usually better than bigger ones.

At least for vinyl, that is. More fragile stuff like resin probably wouldn't fare too well like that.

I haven't had to use it much, but I would swear by Zap-a-Gap. Works very well with vinyl.

Any cyanoacrylate will cause whiteness then the fumes attach to skin oils or dirt, so be sure to make sure it's clean to prevent that annoying fog.

well, i couldn't find that zap a gap stuff, but i bought some krazy glue. seems to have worked really well. not bleaching or whatever (unless that is a long term effect). I can't even tell the thing was broken. thanks for all the help.

Just got in a vintage piece that has a serious tear on one of the leg joints.
Question is, to fix or not to fix...
I can't stand him up to display as he is right now.
Sadness...

Thanks missy.
Seems like it's the best recommendation out there.

My beloved Vinyl Ice Bat took a tumble and lost a wing. After I wailed and cried, I threw myself on the mercy of a sleeping friend who rose and applied Super Glue to the Ice Bat. The wing is fine 2 months later, with no visible signs of damage. I'm still a bit fractured from the experience, but the Ice Bat is well.
The glue was applied inside the hole the wing fits into, so if the glue discolored, I'd never see it.
Good luck with the fix.