Restoring advice

[lordalexander74]

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Got some marks/stains on Sundance and Minty, wouldn't even come off with magic eraser. Haven't tried acetone yet, think a hot oxiclean bath would take care of them?

Minty's also got some nasty brown stuff inside her, got some of it off with soapy water and q-tips, most of that brown stuff is quite stubborn. Hoping the oxiclean treatment will help that.

So far these two are cleaning up nicely, is there a point at which I should resell them as bait? The marks on the outside don't look like anything serious, I'm more concerned about the brown scum inside Minty.

Thanks

[Mami Tomoe]

i think the brown stuff might be rust
be careful with rust

[FlickaFriend]

I just cleaned up a very rusty Posey and she was full of brown stuff like you describe.  I used a baby toothbrush and plenty of mild soap on the bits I could reach inside. I found it got easier to remove after a few minutes of the soap soaking in.  The baby toothbrush worked well for all the accessible areas. For inside the legs and ears I did what I could with pipe cleaners and cotton buds (q-tips in the USA I think) but in the end I found scrubbing with my own fingers/fingernails was the best way to get the insides of her legs clean.  It wasn't really that gross, and was very satisfying.  The brown stuff came out in the soapy water once I started scrubbing and rubbing with fingers.

It all lifted off with no damage to the vinyl. There is a before/during/after photo thread here if you are interested
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,387672.0.html

I can't comment on the exterior marks on your Minty, except to say have you tried gently scratch-rubbing with your fingernails while the surface is wet?  This worked well with a very grubby Blossom today, and lifted marks that the Magic Eraser couldn't touch.  Fingernails are wonderful tools!

But I'm a novice at pony restoration and hopefully others will be able to help as I will be reading with interest!

p.s. Mami Tomoe, what do you mean about needing to be careful with rust?

[lordalexander74]

Thanks for the reply, I'll try those suggestions later. That Minty didn't even have a tail when I got her, though the washers were loose inside, and were rusty when I took them out. Could explain the brown scum, I'll try soap and possibly a light oxiclean solution later.

[FlickaFriend]

Did it work?

[Skeen]

The external mark on Minty looks like old ink.  Try sunfading. 

[Baby Sugarberry]

Don't bother with acetone. 
It won't take out sunk in marks like those, and it /will/ destroy any paint it comes close to. 

[lordalexander74]

Howdy everyone. Bit of an update on this project, I managed to clean out more of that brown gunk from Minty. Soap, warm water and a bit of elbow grease helped.
Though I'm wondering, for general cleaning, is it safer to use a boiling oxiclean bath, or just let the ponies soak in room temp water?

I also have a Best Wishes that I'd like to deflock, I found some great resources on that process, so I don't think I'll need much more help. My only mistake with Best Wishes, she had some rust issues going on. I removed her tail and cleaned the rust easily enough, though I wish I left that metal clamp in, as when I conditioned her tail and tried to comb out the snags, I ended up with a tangled mound of hair. Gonna try sorting that out, if not I can always rehair her. Live and learn I guess.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Oxyclean is not safe for general pony use - there are a lot of pony types it damages irreparably, and is best used for 'totally beyond hope already bait' situations.  Honestly I haven't seen it work that much better than good old soap and water and scrubbing.

If you've got all the metal out and the pony disassembled, nothing wrong with a good soaking between scrub sessions.

[lordalexander74]

Picked up a Sugarberry earlier this week. Came with a few brown stains, some came off with a vigorous Magic Eraser application, though there's a barely visible yellow smear left over. There's some of the same brown smears on part of her symbol, anyone know of a way I can clean them up without damaging the symbol?

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[Baby Sugarberry]

That's a toughie - Sugarberry's symbols are particularly delicate, both due to their size and colour.  Magic Eraser is a kind of sandpaper, which means (if it's taking off most of the mark) mostly a surface stain.  What's left over is probably soaked into the vinyl over the years.  I take it nothing else budged the marks?  Usually I'll try soap/water, toothpaste, rubbing alcohol, acetone (CAUTION: SYMBOL DESTROYER DO NOT USE AROUND PAINT)  in that order, working my way up, until I find one that'll do it.

Sunfading is an option for the leftover but risky around reds.  You'd have to protect her paint and hair very well, and sometimes white ponies turn brown in UV; best to ask if anyone's sunbathed their Sugarberry successfully before.


Edit: Should also mention some alcohol types/concentrations can also remove or smear paint, so be cautious with it.

[lordalexander74]

Soap/water wouldn't move it, I haven't tried toothpaste yet. Would any kind of tootpaste work, or just the whitening varieties w/ hydrogen peroxide?
Definitely not letting acetone anywhere near a pony's paint, I'd only use that if a stain was a safe distance away from anything I don't want gone. This sugarberry's symbols are already starting to fade, I don't want to risk any more damage.

Worst case scenario, I can remove more of that brown scum with a magic eraser, just not whatever's covering her symbol.

Thanks for the advice

[Baby Sugarberry]

I use regular 'ol plain toothpaste, whatever's cheap or already in the bathroom will do. 
Just make sure it's white PASTE, not gel - the gels and some pastes have dye in them which is not something I'd feel happy putting onto a pony.  Better safe than sorry, you know?

[lordalexander74]

Appreciate that toothpaste suggestion, it worked wonders on most ponies I"m cleaning up now. Minty cleaned up rather well, though Sugarberry's still got some minor dirty spots left. Nothing I did managed to clean her up completely, almost looks like smooze/pindots as described by mlppreservationproject.

Next question, when replacing a ponies metal tail components, how necessary is the washer? I've some spare rubber washers, though it doesn't look like the hair will move  a whole lot with a couple zip ties.

[FlickaFriend]

Appreciate that toothpaste suggestion, it worked wonders on most ponies I"m cleaning up now. Minty cleaned up rather well, though Sugarberry's still got some minor dirty spots left. Nothing I did managed to clean her up completely, almost looks like smooze/pindots as described by mlppreservationproject.

Next question, when replacing a ponies metal tail components, how necessary is the washer? I've some spare rubber washers, though it doesn't look like the hair will move  a whole lot with a couple zip ties.

Glad to hear the toothpaste has worked well.

I don't think the washer is necessary unless the pony is going to subjected to some serious play.  The advice given to me recently when I was restoring Cinderposey was to position the tail so that the clamp is sideways on to the hole inside, so that it can't pull through too easily.  As long as the tail is still its original fullness the thickness of the hair will prevent it moving around.  I'm very pleased with Cinderposey minus washer (which I have kept in a safe place in case any future owner/collector wants her with original parts all intact).