Advice on getting rust off pony bodies, please?

[Purpleglasses]

I got a big lot of ponies off Craigslist. Some good ones in there, but a lot seem to have been stored in very damp conditions. Many have tail rust and in a lot of them it has leaked out of the pony and left smears across the plastic itself. Some of this is near the tail but plenty of it is this nasty brown smear all over the pony. I've heard of toothpaste for tail rust, or RIT rust remover as seen http://www.mlptp.net/tutorials/derusting.html here. But do those treatments work on pony plastic too?

Thanks in advance guys! If pictures would help I can snag a few.

Update: Here are a few pics of the discoloration on the pony. Is it rust? I looked up "removing rust from vinyl" and tried baking soda and vinegar, but it didn't help. Anyone know if products from hardware stores for dissolving rust from plastic help? or can they damage pony plastic?

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yep it will work on them too.  be careful of symbol paint.  no princess ponies, magic message ponies, no so softs. 

sometimes you have to sunfade rust marks, unless it is a pony that sunburns

[applejackbunny]

I can testify that toothpaste works really well but you may have to repeat several times - and use lots of elbow grease! Good luck! 

[Shy Violet]

I've found toothpaste works great but yes, lots of elbow grease.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Also look into using some CLR if the rust is REALLY bad... 

CLR is:
Calcium
Lime
Rust remover

WEAR GLOVES, it's corrosive!!!    and don't use it on fragile pony parts as I mentioned above.

If I have nasty rusty tails, I pull 'em out, replace the clamp with a zip tie, throw the tails into a jar of CLR and leave it for 12 hours.  Usually the rust has dissolved, I can then use some Q-tips to scrub at the pony vinyl for the stains, and then I can put the tail in, secure with another ziptie, and be satisfied. 

[Purpleglasses]

Also look into using some CLR if the rust is REALLY bad... 

CLR is:
Calcium
Lime
Rust remover

WEAR GLOVES, it's corrosive!!!    and don't use it on fragile pony parts as I mentioned above.

If I have nasty rusty tails, I pull 'em out, replace the clamp with a zip tie, throw the tails into a jar of CLR and leave it for 12 hours.  Usually the rust has dissolved, I can then use some Q-tips to scrub at the pony vinyl for the stains, and then I can put the tail in, secure with another ziptie, and be satisfied. 

Thank you lovesbabysquirmy! I think I may have to try that. Is it ok to soak ponies in it? Or should I just gently paint it onto problem areas? Thanks again!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yes you can but don't do it for too long! 

[Purpleglasses]

Thank you! How long is too long? Say, is an hour a good amount of time to soak?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

An hour is fine.  I'm talking " too long" as in a day or more.

[Purpleglasses]

Thank you! I will give it a try. I’ve got a bunch of rust stained ponies, hoping this is the fix I need to get them looking nice again!