Concerned about strange marks on TaF Milky Way

[Mana Minori]

I miraculously discovered and bought a g1 pony at a thrift store, and she needs major tlc. While most of her glitter and marks have been rubbed off, I am most concerned about the many brownish grey stains/spots on her hooves and chest. I fear that it might be mold, but they look almost like zebra stripes? I took a damp Q-tip to the mystery stains/spots, but nothing came off except some surface dirt. I fear dissecting her, as I'm not skilled in decapitating ponies or cleaning their innards, and this is my first g1, so I am scared of not being able to put her back together proper. These grey brown stains worry me. Does anyone have an idea of what they are, if its serious, and what I should do?

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[lovesbabysquirmy]

That's pindot mold ingrained into the pores of the plastic.  Time to get your pony as hot and soft as possible - hold her with tongs over a boiling pot of water, then use a popsicle stick or your fingernails or something really strong and scrape as hard as you can, the pindot will lift eventually.  Just with  the glitter symbols of Milky Way, just go slowly through the process.  You can put her down to cool, and pick up this process again, it doesn't need to be removed all in one session. 

[RoseNoire]

Hi ! I have no idea what these marks are, sadly. Are you sure they are on the outside ? Did you try with warm water and scratching a little ? Maybe those mark's solvent is not water, did you try to rub them with magic eraser, acetone or acetone-free nail polish remover ? If they go that way, have fun carefully remove all of them, because it also removes markings/tattoos/eyes and  it's very likely to dissolve glitter glue.

If nothing works, it could be on the inside, here's a method : http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/body.html#HeadRemoval Keep your pony warm (Hairdryer / warm water) so the glue and it's plastic is soft and then work your way around the neck with a blunt object to free the head. This is a slow and delicate process. Try not to tear or cut into the visible part of the vinyl.

Now you've freed the head, it is very probable there's rust (is the base of her tail rusty ?,  then remove the tail, you'll be able to put it back in place, don't worry https://youtu.be/ey1K8ysfXp8 Remove it with pliers from the inside and replace it by following the instructions a 06:38) or mold inside. Be careful, or course. My way of removing them is simple : take a toothbrush, dish soap, warm water and rub everywhere inside. When the plastic is softened enough, I also try to brush the legs all the way down as much as I can, but it's a case-by-case situation, don't force too much.
When it's 90% clean an the only dirty place left are the legs, I move on to small steel beads extracted from ball bearings (the smaller, the better), I put them inside the pony with dish soap, a small amount of warm water, I conceal the openings with my hands an shake the pony as much and as long as I can. I helps, but then, it's my technique, the is probably better ones.
When it's cleaned, I rinse with warm water and dry the inside as much as I can with a hairdryer. I tend to leave my pony dry for itself for a couple more days is a dry area. Mold develops when it's humid, so I simply keep the pony dry as much as possible.

More documentation about de-rusting can be found here http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/body.html#Rust
Tail rust : http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/hair.html#TailRust
I tend to remove the metal parts of the tail and replace them with two well tied plastic zip-ties, so I won't have to worry about rust anymore.
One who divides the hair chunk in two.
On right bellow who brings the two halves together.
I then cut off the long parts.

Tail with zip-ties, don't mind the French

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Well, yeah, I got carried away, there's waaay more information than you need. But hope that helps, I'm really trying to help you with those marks, I swear. Since I don't know what those are, I described every possibility.

If it's not on the inside either, maybe sunfading will be the only solution. Just be sure your pony isn't prone to sunburn.


Hope I helped. Have a great day !

Rose

[Safflower]

Hmm.... This is a tough one! It's either pindot or transfer marks, I think. If it was pindot, try using the method LBS described. If that doesn't work, it was probably from transfer marks. If it was transfer marks, the previous owner must have wrapped something around Milky Way's leg or something may have been touching it just right. Try getting it off with soap and warmish water and if that doesn't work, try sunfading.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

When you rub your fingers on the marks, does it feel really rough? If so, that would mean it's pindot!

[Mana Minori]

That's pindot mold ingrained into the pores of the plastic.  Time to get your pony as hot and soft as possible - hold her with tongs over a boiling pot of water, then use a popsicle stick or your fingernails or something really strong and scrape as hard as you can, the pindot will lift eventually.  Just with  the glitter symbols of Milky Way, just go slowly through the process.  You can put her down to cool, and pick up this process again, it doesn't need to be removed all in one session. 

ew. Do I need to keep her quarantined?  How do I know if she's not moldy inside, without dissecting her? I'll invest in some tongs that I won't feel guilty about getting moldy and try your steaming method later today. Thanks.

[LadyMoondancer]

Oooo, congrats on your find!

To me it looks like stubborn surface dirt.  The kind where it will come off if you scrape with your fingernail, but otherwise is very resistant. That is what the "zebra stripes" are, someone was trying to scrape it away.  It is not as deep as pindot mold.  I would start by just turning on the tap, slathering her with soap on her legs, and scrubbing her with a washcloth (but not on her symbols of course.)

Whatever you do, don't dip her in boiling water or her glitter symbol with suffer.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

You don't need to keep her quarantined if it's just pin-dot. Removing her head seems to be the only way to see if she's got mold on the inside, and it's the only way you'll be able to fully clean her of it. If the stripes just come off with scraping, then it was just pin-dot and her insides should be clean if you don't see anything creeping up the tail.

[Mana Minori]

When you rub your fingers on the marks, does it feel really rough? If so, that would mean it's pindot!

yup. gross and rough. Nice to know it's not too serious, though I am worried about what's inside. If there's mold on the outside, it's possible it's on the inside too, right?

[Mana Minori]

Oooo, congrats on your find!

To me it looks like stubborn surface dirt.  The kind where it will come off if you scrape with your fingernail, but otherwise is very resistant. That is what the "zebra stripes" are, someone was trying to scrape it away.  It is not as deep as pindot mold.  I would start by just turning on the tap, slathering her with soap on her legs, and scrubbing her with a washcloth (but not on her symbols of course.)

Whatever you do, don't dip her in boiling water or her glitter symbol with suffer.

I'll try the good old fashioned soap and water scrubbing, since I can't steam her just yet, as lovebabysquirmy suggested. Stores aren't open to invest in a pair of tongs that I can get moldy. Yeah, I'm keeping far away from her symbol, especially the side that is more intact. Don't want to ruin the glitter that miraculously survived 30+ years of child roughhousing and thrift foster homes.

[Leave a Whisper]

Looks like ingrained dirt. Because G1s are soft, porous plastic, dirt and stains embed themselves easier. But never fear. I've seen people do amazing things with ponies that look like they were extras from a post-apocalyptic zombie flick and made them all purty again. People here have already given you great advice!

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