Questions about Pindot Mold

[Desert Rose]

I've discoverd two ponies in my collection that suffer from quite serious so called Pindot Mold. They are almost covered in it and being the perfectionist that I am I can not accept ponies like that in my collection. The anoying thing is that it's Buttons with only 3 buttons as a symbol and Alternate Birthflower Violet. So I've made up my mind to try and restore them from it.

I've googled and googled and only found one tip so far. Really hot water along with some antibacterial soap and then rubb the life out of me with my fingernail. It seemd to look easy enough and the person explaining it in her step by step method were talking about how well it works. So I tried it, and tried it... and tried it some more and absolutely nothing happends My fingers look like raisins and the ponies are still just as bad.

So my questions are:

1. What method/chemicals/tools are the best to use in order to get ridd of this? And don't say hot water and antibacterial soap

And 2. Does this thing spread or grow worse over time if left untreated?

Any advice and/or info would be very much appriciated

[Ayalah]

Ok I'm hardly an expert on this. I do my very best to avoid buying ponies with any such malady BUT i have had to treat a couple of minor cases. I'm the same way as you. I can't stand this kind of thing on my ponies! In my experience it isn't "hot" water. It is BOILING water. Boiling *I believe* is the only way to stop it/get rid of it. You have to soften/open the pores and dig it out with a toothbrush or your finger nail etc. The boiling/bleach method will stop it from reoccuring or spreading. You still might not be able to get it all. If you're really patient you might get a decent amount though.

[Roogna]

Iused the hot water method (as hot as the tap would get), but fingernails did nothing. I got a small screwdriver (flat head) to scrape with I used it on an argie heart throb

[Ginger]

I had a pony COVERED in it, the scrubbing with hot water thing didn't work.

I finally got rid of it all by soaking her in boiling water and oxyclean. A bit more scrubbing and it was completely gone.

The only problem is, when I tried it on another pony and soaked her overnight, it faded her red paint. That was the only color I noticed fading in though and I feel like the length had something to do with it, so I'd be careful. Every last bit of pin-dot was gone though!

ETA: Maybe this method would work by spot cleaning. Dipping an old toothbrush or something into the hot water/oxy mixture and just scrubbing her without a soak? I think I'll try that next time I get a pin-dot pony.

ETA #2: In my opinion, I don't think it's mold. I think it's ingrained dirt. I saw a member once who managed to recreate it by rubbing a pony in dirt and the outcome looked exactly the same.

Ok I swear I'm done now!

[rybett]

I read somewhere that this thing can help spare your fingers. 
http://www.amazon.com/Physician-Supplies-Comedone-Extractor-3-3/dp/B0008F6H3G

[Baby Sugarberry]

Pindot isn't actually mould - or at least, that's not what causes it - pretty much every surface in the world has mould spores on it.

Pindot is ingrained dirt, so it does not spread nor is it contagious unless you habitually roll your ponies around in dirty places.  Certain ponies are more prone to it because they have either a more porous plastic formula or suffer degradation over the years.  While it's a fair bit of work, most cases are treatable.

[Desert Rose]

Cheers for the replys and info guys.

I tried the hot water from the tap (as hot as it can get, and that is pretty darn hot ) but as it did nothing I'll try the boiling water Just gotta find myself an old toothbrush now and the swedish equivalent to oxyclean

[Ringlets]

Pindot mold can be a pain to get rid of, but it is treatable - promise
I've never ever used boiling water myself BTW - just hot water. But I do soak the pony in Vanish Oxy-Action (Pink tub)  , one scoop , first. I believe that this stuff is widely available across Europe (and is a good if not better version of Oxyclean   ) .  Keep an eye on your soaking pony though since you dont want to leave her in the solution so long that there is a risk of color fade     This on its own can remove a lot of the pindot, but sometimes more treatment is needed ....so...
Next I rinse the pony in warm water and then take some Cif Cream (Original lemon)   - i think this is available across Europe too but i do not know specifically about Sweden   If you can find Cif cream I think this is the best treatment for Pindot that there is.
Put the cream on a kitchen sponge  and then rub it directly onto the pony over the pindot mold, rinse with warm water and then do it again til the mold vanishes. Use the smooth side of the sponge for delicate areas which have paintwork sunch as the eyes/symbols, and the rough side for tougher areas such as the legs, horn etc.   Important - use a kitchen sponge that has a white colored rough side rather than a green one . The white will not transer color to the pony, but the green one will .
Hope that made sense?   I've never had a pony who is untreatable using these two methods

[achab1984]

This is good to know, cause I have a few that have some of it!!!! 

[Desert Rose]

We do have Vanish Oxy Action here, I actually have a tub right here in my home I haven't heard of Cif Cream before though.

But I'll definitly try that one =) I've been abit scared to put the ponies in boiling water so if super hot water from the tap works along with Vanish then that would be awesome. *Heading off to try it right away*

[FarDreamer]

Hmmm,

That method worked for me, but I used scissors to do the scraping as my finger nails couldn't stand up to that.  It really did work:

http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/body.html#Mold

http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/mycollection1.html

I used near boiling water after a near boiling oxiclean bath.

[Mlphammy]

Mr.Clean Magic Erasers do WONDERS on pindot. I've got a Blossom that was COVERED in pindot. I use a Mr.Clean Magic Eraser and she hardly has any left. They don't ruin symbols too. Do you have something like that near you?

[Ianthe99]

When I do the hot water thing, I use a non-serrated butter knife. Thin, rounded edge.. good for scraping.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

When I do the hot water thing, I use a non-serrated butter knife. Thin, rounded edge.. good for scraping.

That's what I use too, water from the freshly boiled kettle and a butter knife.  And of course gloves!

[hathorcat]

As Baby Sugarberry says pindot isnt actually mould its just ingrained dirt which is trapped in the pores of the plastic. Therefore, unless you rub your pony around in a mound of dirt in the garden its not spreadable.

Ringlets treatment is brilliant - I tried it after she posted in another thread some time ago and honestly it works well.

Cif is simply a bathroom cream - you will probably know it as Jif in Sweden [it used to be called Jif in the UK as well before it was changed to Cif several years ago].