Off with her head?

[RoseNoire]

Wellp, I just wasted my time and patience on opening a CF Italian Cotton Candy for nothing. I heard rustling inside, I though it was rust, but nope, that was a tiny vinyl cone I don't even know what that was and her washer was damn shiny and her inside as fresh as new. I'm upset.

[kestral_kitsune]

when i  clean them from first getting them i always take the head off to clean only if it comes off easily. if i have to fight to get the head off it usually stays on. but I tend to want to make sure there's no hidden grossness inside the body.

[SwirlyWhirly]

Just a thought - did you soak the join between the head and neck (where the glue is) in very hot/boiling water first? That can help significantly in loosening the glue and the heads tend to come off much easier and without damage . Hope that helps 

No, didn't do that. Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely try that the next time. I don't want to repeat the massacre I did the other day.

[NightGliderSA]

I will also not take pony heads off (sounds terrible!) unless there are signs of rust, or if the head already turns. In my experience some are much easier to take off than others, so perhaps you were just extremely unlucky? Another thing you can do to soften the glue is use a hairdryer and 'blow' the air over the seam area. I keep moving the pony around while doing this and have found it to really help with those stubborn ponies who insist on keeping their heads on. Darn ponies!

Wellp, I just wasted my time and patience on opening a CF Italian Cotton Candy for nothing. I heard rustling inside, I though it was rust, but nope, that was a tiny vinyl cone I don't even know what that was and her washer was damn shiny and her inside as fresh as new. I'm upset.

This happened to me too - so frustrating! The small piece of vinyl is what comes out of the tail 'area' when they make the hole for the tail. Salty had 2 in him somehow.

[RoseNoire]

Yup, that was my assumption. I put it back inside so I don't loose it. Hope my pony won't rust now as I was generous with water for that one. ;-;

[pikkupapupata]

I only take off the head if there are obvious signs that the inside is dirty and needs to be cleaned. I'm more comfortable doing it with my personal ponies, but I've done it to some that I've sold as well, and I make sure to disclose what I've done. I have conflicting stances on this; while I don't like to alter a pony from its original state, I also don't like to leave a pony dirty or 'flawed' if I can help it. I tend to decide on a case-by-case basis. I can't stand tail rust though, so I usually always clean that if present, and then replace all metal with Zip Ties.

I've received a few ponies that had no rust or dirty insides, but their tail washers were loose. Their heads were only glued at a small part of the neck seam, so I gently popped their heads up enough to replace the washer, and then popped them back down without affecting the remaining glue.

If I'm not removing heads, my ponies are cleaned with a soapy sponge, a Magic Eraser, and then a soapy sponge again, and I wipe them down with a towel. I wash, shampoo, and condition hair, but I always dip the hair into water, and squeeze it out before styling. I try to avoid submerging ponies into any liquid if not necessary, and I leave them to dry since the cleaning process can allow some water to get inside via the roots and tail holes. But, I've got five submerged in peroxide right now to try to deal with other issues, with two that have their heads off; they're my testers since a lot of this is new to me, and I'm okay keeping them, or eventually selling them and noting that this has been done.

[RoseNoire]

I use antibacterial wipes to clean ponies that I don't need to remove the heads from.

Oh, I tried antibacterial wipes for basic surface dirt on my G1 Majesty and it was a total pain, nothing would get off except if I scratch the hell out of it on 100% of the surface of my pony. I gave up and went back with my dishsoap and toothbrush halfway through. ;-; Did I do something wrong ? =/
(Happy birthday btw. =) )

[poniesthatsparkle]

I usually only take off heads when I know for sure a pony is dirty inside, and when that happens it doesn't bother me at all. I also like to replace the washer with a zip tie just to prevent rust in the future. I also remove the heads from ponies who don't have much glue left, anyway.

I NEVER take the heads off of ponies that don't need it. I find it to be a waste of my time and I'd hate to devalue any pony.

[Sukey]

Yes, I almost always remove the head to clean them.  There is nasty stuff in there sometimes and I like them to be throughly dry inside after cleaning them.  I’ve seen a lot of them that are sticky inside.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Only for tail rust and stuff like that. Most of my G1's come with loose neck seals, anyway.

[Esbayne]

If my G1s have a neck seal that is hanging by a thread, I gently pull on it for two reasons. One, if it's hanging by a thread, their head can turn pretty much, anyway- might as well make it turn fully, it's kinda cool, especially on G1's.
Two, some of them smell glorious inside. I thrifted a Starshine a few months back that has no neck glue, her head can turn freely- I'd never popped a G1's head off before but I did out of curiosity with her because I knew I could get it back on. She smelled HEAVENLY inside. Like the biggest, freshest blast of "G1 pony smell" you could ever imagine.
But if a pony's neck is still well sealed, I leave it. I wish all their heads could turn, but I'd never do that unless they were full of gunk and need a serious cleaning. (Suspicious glance at Wavedancer, who has never been opened up but played with in water many, many times over the course of 30 years between two generations... >.>)  Especially to my "childhood" G1s (hand me downs in the early 2000's, but still from my childhood) I really can't bear doing anything to them to change them whatsoever- It took me until last year to get the guts to give them all baths! (30 something year old dirt on them!! They look so beautiful now)
I don't know what it is, a thrifted pony with her neck hanging by a thread, I have no problem making it into a turning head. My childhood G1s I could never fathom doing anything to change them at all. Really not sure why, they're not any different from any of my other G1s, really. Sentimental, sure, but making their heads turn doesn't dramatically change them, and I never plan to resell any of my ponies. Never have over 20 years, never will.

[Snapdragon]

I'm not a prolific pony seller, but I'd feel comfortable saying "this pony is mint with a turning head", because then you're being clear and to the point; the pony's great, only her head's come off! It happened organically enough to my childhood ponies when I played with them, so I think sometimes heads just naturally pop off without collector involvement due to age, brittle glue, or just really rowdy kids!

That said, I don't mind a pony with a turning head (prefer it even!) so it's not a deal-breaker for me when I'm buying. For some folks it is! So just be up-front and everyone will be happy!

As to when I'll remove heads - I'll admit, I'm a bit head-remove happy. If I even see a SIGN of darkness at the base of a tail, or she smells like mildew, or even if the body looks dark from within, I'll tug the head off to make sure it's nothing. I'd much rather have a loose-headed pony than risk a bad case of rust/mold/mildew a couple months from now!

[Noasar]

Some ponies heads are very loose anyway. I’m a bit of a clean freak so like others have said, if there’s evidence of mould or rust inside I’ll pop the head off, take out the washer etc. I wouldn’t mind receiving a pony that has been advertised as ‘mint’ To find the head had been taken off and the washer replaced etc. If anything I’d be glad that the seller had taken time and care to clean it up.

[Shaiyeh]

Like most people have said before me, I only take their heads off if there's clearly rust or mold on the inside.
If the head has just been taken off with the ring still intact, I don't think it affects the value a lot - I wouldn't mind buying a pony like that. but if the head has been cut off (not just cut through the glue, but cut clean off), I do think it'd bring the value down, and definitely needs to be in the item description if for sale.

[starstrider]

As a rule, I don't like removing pony heads unless there are obvious signs of internal issues like mould or rust.  Even rattle isn't always an indication of rust and shouldn't be the sole reason one decides to break an intact head seal.  A perfect example is a Glow 'N Show pony I actually won this week - the washer is loose and rattling around the body cavity, but there is no internal rust.  And I can tell because she's transparent!  Her head gets to stay intact. 

It's been my experience that water penetration during washing manes and tails is really only a significant risk of causing rust/mould if the pony has been submerged in the water, rather than simply a standard wash and rinse.  If you ensure the pony is not soaking in water or cleaning solution and make sure you rinse rather and dunk, the drying process of the interior is much safer and unlikely to cause issues. 

That said, if there are serious suspicions of rust/mould issues, don't hesitate to (gently!) loosen the neck seal and remove the head so you can perform a thorough inspection for internal complications.  It's better to have a clean and dry pony with a loose head than to have a pony with an intact factory seal with active rust or mould growing inside!