Questions about sunfading, but not the usual ones!

[Safflower]

Hello! I have recently acquired a huge lot of G1s, and quite a few have rust stains. So my first question: how does sunfading work with colored ponies? Does it brighten them or fade their color, is it as effective as white ponies, etc. Second question: How to cover thin tiny symbols? The worst pony is Sky Rocket, who has thin fireworks. Which brings me to my third question: Does sunfading damage twinkle eye eyes?

Anyway, thank you! I know how to sunfade generally, so I don't need any help with that Any responses are greatly appreciated!

[Breyer600]

Sunfading works just as well with colored ponies as it does with white ones.  It will eventually fade the color particularly if they are pink or purple, but I've found G1s to be handle being sunfaded for longer periods than G3s or G4s of similar colors.  If they are yellowed, sunfading can make them appear brighter.

Some examples:

Spoiler

Paintingtime sunfaded for a few weeks to a month:
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The Love Melody from the before pic is next to my near mint one in the after pic to show how her color did fade, but you can also see how discolored she was to start with.  I'm not sure how long she was faded, but it was at least several months.  (Her hearts are why I don't recommend relying on paint to cover symbols - I painted over them with white paint but only the very centers remained unfaded when I removed it.)
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Peppermint Crunch took quite awhile too.  The one that was faded is on the right in the comparison photo showing that her yellowing was improved while not fading her excessively.
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Twinkle eyes will fade.
Fizzy's side that wasn't sunfaded:
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Fizzy's side that was sunfaded without covering her eye first:
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[Safflower]

Thank you so much! I can't wait to try and sunfade a few! Sky Rocket and the others will look a lot better I know people have sun faded colored ponies, but for some reason I thought it was different than white ponies lol And wow, that twinkle eye fading...

[Sawkinator]

Sunfading works just as well with colored ponies as it does with white ones.  It will eventually fade the color particularly if they are pink or purple, but I've found G1s to be handle being sunfaded for longer periods than G3s or G4s of similar colors.  If they are yellowed, sunfading can make them appear brighter.

Some examples:

Spoiler

Paintingtime sunfaded for a few weeks to a month:
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The Love Melody from the before pic is next to my near mint one in the after pic to show how her color did fade, but you can also see how discolored she was to start with.  I'm not sure how long she was faded, but it was at least several months.  (Her hearts are why I don't recommend relying on paint to cover symbols - I painted over them with white paint but only the very centers remained unfaded when I removed it.)
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Peppermint Crunch took quite awhile too.  The one that was faded is on the right in the comparison photo showing that her yellowing was improved while not fading her excessively.
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Ooh, Love Melody actually looks pretty nice with that blueish color. (...but now I'm a little worried about the G1s I just started fading with the white paint method)

There's a handful of specific ponies that are more prone to sunburning/discoloration (there's a few older threads that list them), but it doesn't seem like color really matters unless you're in a place with intense sunlight.

[flutterscotch]

I've had a baby Blossom's bottom half out on my back porch in the sun for a week and a half now, and it hasn't done a thing to her (sadly for me, because I am trying to fade her body to match her head), if that is helpful.

[BlackCurtains]

I used very thin strips of Painters Tape to cover symbols.

[Breyer600]

Ooh, Love Melody actually looks pretty nice with that blueish color. (...but now I'm a little worried about the G1s I just started fading with the white paint method)

I think the main thing is to make sure you get a really thick coat on them.  I used paint on her eyes too and they didn't fade, but I was able to get the paint on in a much thicker layer than on those tiny little hearts.  (It doesn't show in that shot but the centers of some of the hearts where the paint was the thickest still have some pink too.)  It didn't help that that particular shade of pink fades so easily.

[Taffeta]

This may sound crazy, but I kind of like Fizzy's eye like that. Especially that she has 2 different eyes now. Makes her unique

I have never tried to sun fade because I worry about the impact on the plastic longterm and whether it would increase breakdown. Is there any knowledge about that?

[Snapdragon]

Okay, one thing I read here last week about painting - you can wrap the pony in cling-wrap, THEN paint over the symbols. Makes clean-up super easy, and probably makes it easier to glob on the paint and protect the symbols!! :O

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I have never tried to sun fade because I worry about the impact on the plastic longterm and whether it would increase breakdown. Is there any knowledge about that?

You mean "age spots"? I thought someone had proved that it was a sort of fungus.

[Safflower]

I have never tried to sun fade because I worry about the impact on the plastic longterm and whether it would increase breakdown. Is there any knowledge about that?

You mean "age spots"? I thought someone had proved that it was a sort of fungus.

Age spots are not the only type of breakdown (plasticizer leakage, regrind, etc.) And age spots are not always caused by fungus. They can be caused by mold, but mold age spots aren't really age spots because they weren't caused from aging. Most age spots are not caused by fungus.

Seriously though, where is everyone getting this info that age spots come from fungus? Every time someone mentions age spots, people say that someone has proven they are always caused by fungus but that isn't the case. I'm really confused as it was common knowledge that they aren't? Is it because of the preservation project? I vaguely remember that site for age spots quoting a book and saying that fungus always causes these things and breakdown has nothing to do with it? Is that why?

Yeah though, I know a few people who are concerned about sunfading doing damage to the plastic. Intense heat and light for an extended period of time may not be the best thing for plastic. Honestly though, I've never really heard of sun faded ponies breaking down faster, so let's hope it isn't an issue!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Seriously though, where is everyone getting this info that age spots come from fungus? Every time someone mentions age spots, people say that someone has proven they are always caused by fungus but that isn't the case. I'm really confused as it was common knowledge that they aren't? Is it because of the preservation project? I vaguely remember that site for age spots quoting a book and saying that fungus always causes these things and breakdown has nothing to do with it? Is that why?

Yes, that's probably where I got it. That and that hydrogen peroxide has been shown to take out the brown spots (at least for a bit) supports the idea to me. Hydrogen peroxide cannot reverse damage to the plastic. I also cannot find anything else stating that plastic in toys breaks down into brown spots (or stating this at all), but I'm sure it exists...somewhere.
We're still iffy about the exact cause, I suppose.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

I was under the impression that there were two types of similar-looking spots, ones that are caused by mold, and ones that are simply the plastic breaking down.

[Safflower]

I was under the impression that there were two types of similar-looking spots, ones that are caused by mold, and ones that are simply the plastic breaking down.

Yeah, this is correct.

Tailrustedtealeaf, peroxide only works on age spots caused by mold, and they only go away if the mold hasn't stained. Peroxide isn't a foolproof method, and since a lot of age spots aren't caused by mold, it won't work a lot of the time. Not to say it doesn't work through, I've used it a few times and it lessened the age spot, but there was still some staining And like you said, we are still a bit iffy. We don't know exactly how or what the mold does, or how the plastic does its thing and causes spots. At least we know that mold spots usually have a ring around them and a dark spot in the center, but not always.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Tailrustedtealeaf, peroxide only works on age spots caused by mold, and they only go away if the mold hasn't stained. Peroxide isn't a foolproof method, and since a lot of age spots aren't caused by mold, it won't work a lot of the time. Not to say it doesn't work through, I've used it a few times and it lessened the age spot, but there was still some staining And like you said, we are still a bit iffy. We don't know exactly how or what the mold does, or how the plastic does its thing and causes spots. At least we know that mold spots usually have a ring around them and a dark spot in the center, but not always.

I can live with this, I just wish age-caused age-spots had a bit more documentation. It'd be nice to see what factors actually affect the occurance of the spots.