collapse

* Navigation

* User Info

 
 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

* Who's Online

Author Topic: what is smooze/pindot/age spots? (let's ditch the term 'pony cancer' y'all!)  (Read 4305 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline kingluke

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • Dabbles Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1479
  • Gender: Male
  • The Great King of Lucia
    • View Profile
Hello,

I've been on this forum for a bit now but I keep seeing people talk about smooze,pindot and pony cancer (which I call pony disease, because where I'm from, rude and unsensitive people use cancer as a curse word/adjectif)

Could somebody tell me what these things are, and what to do about them?

Thank you in advance :)

see ya,

Luke
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 01:36:11 PM by kingluke »
Lover of Windwhistler

Offline Safflower

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • G3 Prototype Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
  • Gender: Female
  • Whatever shall I put here? (she/her)
    • View Profile
Re: what is smooze/pindot/pony cancer?
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2018, 12:26:56 PM »
Smooze and pindot are the same thing :) Since ponies are made of vinyl, they have pores, which dirt can get into. It's just ingrained dirt. It's a lengthy process to remove it. Basically, get some boiling or near boiling water, dip the affected area in for 30 seconds or more until the vinyl is nice and squishy, and scrape the vinyl with your fingernail. Repeat. You can also add soap when scraping if you want. This is a recent topic: http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,391461.0.html

As for "pony cancer"... Yeah, using cancer can be insensitive and hurtful. Lots of people, including me, just use the term "age spots". There are different types: one is caused by fungus/mold, and the other is (you guessed it) from age.

Age spots caused by mold/fungus will usually have a dark spot in the middle with a ring around it. You can sometimes remove these with peroxide, but sometimes you can't because they have stained. If the mold spores or fungus is still alive, there might be a slight chance that it could spread, but if you use peroxide, it will most likely be fine.

The ones caused by age are from deterioration of the vinyl. Honestly, I'm not too sure about what happens, but if a pony develops them, it's likely they will develop more. Most in the community believe they are not contagious, but some say they are. A lot of the time the environment will cause the vinyl to deteriorate, and if you have your ponies in the same environment, it is likely age spots will develop on more than one pony if the conditions are right. This does not mean it's contagious, though. Some ponies are more prone to these than others, like Quackers and Nightlight to name a few. Some people say peroxide soaks work, but I haven't tried them myself. Other than that, there isn't much you can do.

If they have stained, the only option is to let them be there or paint over them. Some people cover them with ponywear. Others have tried to sand them off (sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.)

Basically, two things ponies can be affected with. Smooze is fixable while age spots rarely can be.

WARNING: Don't use acne cream for age spots. Or on any pony ever. It will bleach the vinyl after a while, causing discoloration. This discoloration can spread through the pony and to other ponies as well who you didn't even apply the cream to in the first place.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 03:40:01 PM by Safflower »
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

。.:☆*:・~celestial ponies are best ponies~・:*☆:.
~thanks to the wonderful Griffin for my sig!~

Offline emily_katie

  • Trade Count: (+3)
  • Sweet Kisses Pony
  • **
  • Posts: 144
  • Gender: Female
  • Bush 'n' Grow Gal
    • View Profile
    • My Tumblr
Re: what is smooze/pindot/pony cancer?
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2018, 12:37:34 PM »
Totally agree with phasing out the term pony cancer and replacing it with age spots, not only is the term hurtful but the connotations of cancer imply age spots to be a bigger problem then they actually are (in my view at least).
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login

                                                          IG: Pastels_Parade
                                                       Tumblr: Pastel-Parade

Offline Baby Sugarberry

  • Trade Count: (+8)
  • Mommy & Baby Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1760
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
Re: what is smooze/pindot/pony cancer?
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2018, 01:00:15 PM »
I never liked 'pony cancer' - it's ill fitting and alarmist.  'age spots' or vinyl deterioration are far more appropriate.  As to their causes, it's largely up in the air.  One of the problems is that 'age spots' is a huge umbrella term for similar symptoms that likely have a myriad of causes.  It's like pain; too general to be useful for a diagnosis.  Most of the evidence is anecdotal and even the deliberate investigation has a hard time accounting for all the potential variables.  Not every pony is made of the same vinyl recipe.  Every one of them went through different experiences during their lifetimes.

What we do know is that a lot of age spots are likely environmentally triggered, and have something to do with the vinyl formulation itself.  High humidity, temperature fluctuations can accelerate the breakdown of both plasticizer (leading to sticky, hard ponies) and the appearance of spots.  Certain colours are FAR more susceptible to age spots - light blue & milky white ponies in particular often get it.  There's no conclusive evidence that age spots are contagious, beyond 'the problem happens more often to ponies kept in similar storage conditions'. 
G1 Wishlist  It's the final countdown! Looking to purchase the last few G1's for my collection - Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies Foamy, Misty & Surfy - Red Roses - SHS Sweet Sundrop - Springy - Teeny Tiny Snookums (#2)

Offline kingluke

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • Dabbles Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1479
  • Gender: Male
  • The Great King of Lucia
    • View Profile
Re: what is smooze/pindot/pony cancer?
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2018, 01:34:27 PM »
thank you all for your advise and help :)
Lover of Windwhistler

Offline Taffeta

  • Trade Count: (+62)
  • Colombian Baby Pony
  • ******
  • Posts: 16065
  • Gender: Female
  • UK Pony, Jem and Mediaeval Japanese obsessive :D
    • View Profile
    • The My Little Pony Scrapbook
I think the advice about acne cream ought to be in big bold letters and not a spoiler personally. It's a really important thing to warn folk about :)

I dislike all of these terms. They're pony jargon. And I totally agree with eradicating the 'cancer' term. I don't know who came up with it but it's been around a while. I think it's time that the term vanished. But I would prefer we didn't use any terms (like "Smooze") that don't exactly describe the issue. Smooze in pony sense is purple slime. So unless your pony has purple slime that makes her grumpy, I suggest we stop using that term as well. Just because it doesn't make sense...;)
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
|夏草やつわものどもが夢の跡|

Offline Safflower

  • Trade Count: (+2)
  • G3 Prototype Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 3286
  • Gender: Female
  • Whatever shall I put here? (she/her)
    • View Profile
I agree Taffeta. I think pindot is a better term than smooze. Who thought smooze was best to describe that anyway? You have to admit it is funny saying a pony has smooze though XD And when you remove it you know she isn't grumpy anymore! Lol!

In all seriousness though, we do need to stop using cancer. I remember hearing a story where a buyer asked a seller if a pony had cancer, and the seller got outraged because she had never heard the term and thought the buyer was asking if the pony had literal cancer. IIRC, the seller also had relatives die from cancer. Don't know if the seller sold the pony to that buyer or not though. But yeah, situations like this can be easily avoided. It's not okay to call vinyl deterioration on a plastic pony a thing that KILLS people :(

I should probably edit my post to have a bigger warning about acne cream. I know some people still use it and some of those people are on this board, and I thought they might get mad. That's why I put it in a tiny spoiler. But thinking it over, I'd rather boldly warn against a harmful "restoration" method, making sure people know and possibly anger some pony peeps than have ponies ruined by acne cream. Thanks :)
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

。.:☆*:・~celestial ponies are best ponies~・:*☆:.
~thanks to the wonderful Griffin for my sig!~

Online Carrehz

  • #1 Prizestuffer
  • Trade Count: (+13)
  • Spain Piggy Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 7035
  • Gender: Female
  • I'm gonna live forever or die trying!
    • View Profile
Yeah, how did smooze come to be used as a synonym for pindot/age spots, anyway? I've never understood that one, it's vague and it doesn't really.. make sense, considering smooze in the movie had nothing to do with deteriorating plastic XD
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Offline kissthethunder

  • Trade Count: (+44)
  • Rapunzel Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 3885
  • Gender: Female
  • shifting through the maples for Oakley
    • View Profile
    • http://kiss-the-thunder.deviantart.com/
Yeah, how did smooze come to be used as a synonym for pindot/age spots, anyway? I've never understood that one, it's vague and it doesn't really.. make sense, considering smooze in the movie had nothing to do with deteriorating plastic XD

That's easy to answer! Back in the day pretty much anything that was near impossible to remove often fell under the term because it, like smooze from the movie, takes a lot of effort to get off your pony if at all. It was just an affectionate term people adopted much like bronies might call a ponies symbols cutie marks or might playfully say that an unwanted spot on their pony is cutiepox.

Over time those meanings become obscure or obsolete and newer more accurate words to describe the vinyl issues are adopted. The collectors who coined the term are older than their teens and early twenties now and we now have specific tried and true scientific explanations for what happens to our ponies, eradicating the 'mystery' behind what used to be a confusing issue.

Hope that helps <3
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 06:34:25 PM by kissthethunder »

Offline NightGliderSA

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Mommy & Baby Pony
  • ****
  • Posts: 1624
    • View Profile
I agree that these are terms that should fall out of use. Because while there are some people who do not mind them, particularly that controversial "Pony Cancer", there are others who are offended /saddened when they see the term.

And for me, 'Pin Dot' is more descriptive of what is occurring than 'Smooze'. Though I don't necessarily agree with 'Mold' following on behind.

So, what I am trying to say is that I agree with what is being said.

Online Carrehz

  • #1 Prizestuffer
  • Trade Count: (+13)
  • Spain Piggy Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 7035
  • Gender: Female
  • I'm gonna live forever or die trying!
    • View Profile
Yeah, how did smooze come to be used as a synonym for pindot/age spots, anyway? I've never understood that one, it's vague and it doesn't really.. make sense, considering smooze in the movie had nothing to do with deteriorating plastic XD

That's easy to answer! Back in the day pretty much anything that was near impossible to remove often fell under the term because it, like smooze from the movie, takes a lot of effort to get off your pony if at all. It was just an affectionate term people adopted much like bronies might call a ponies symbols cutie marks or might playfully say that an unwanted spot on their pony is cutiepox.

Oooh, now that actually *does* make sense! I've always wondered about that :D Thanks for telling me!!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Offline Taffeta

  • Trade Count: (+62)
  • Colombian Baby Pony
  • ******
  • Posts: 16065
  • Gender: Female
  • UK Pony, Jem and Mediaeval Japanese obsessive :D
    • View Profile
    • The My Little Pony Scrapbook
Yeah, how did smooze come to be used as a synonym for pindot/age spots, anyway? I've never understood that one, it's vague and it doesn't really.. make sense, considering smooze in the movie had nothing to do with deteriorating plastic XD

That's easy to answer! Back in the day pretty much anything that was near impossible to remove often fell under the term because it, like smooze from the movie, takes a lot of effort to get off your pony if at all. It was just an affectionate term people adopted much like bronies might call a ponies symbols cutie marks or might playfully say that an unwanted spot on their pony is cutiepox.

Oooh, now that actually *does* make sense! I've always wondered about that :D Thanks for telling me!!

It's also why the term is now so confused and people use it for lots of different problems.

Still holding out for the day someone actually comes here with a genuine smoozed pony. Slime is popular at the moment, so I figure it's a possible reality to happen..
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
|夏草やつわものどもが夢の跡|

Offline banditpony

  • マイリトルポニー
  • Trade Count: (+131)
  • MIB Rapunzel Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 5690
  • ♥ タカラ ♥
    • View Profile
I never liked 'pony cancer' - it's ill fitting and alarmist.  'age spots' or vinyl deterioration are far more appropriate.  As to their causes, it's largely up in the air.  One of the problems is that 'age spots' is a huge umbrella term for similar symptoms that likely have a myriad of causes.  It's like pain; too general to be useful for a diagnosis.  Most of the evidence is anecdotal and even the deliberate investigation has a hard time accounting for all the potential variables.  Not every pony is made of the same vinyl recipe.  Every one of them went through different experiences during their lifetimes.

What we do know is that a lot of age spots are likely environmentally triggered, and have something to do with the vinyl formulation itself.  High humidity, temperature fluctuations can accelerate the breakdown of both plasticizer (leading to sticky, hard ponies) and the appearance of spots.  Certain colours are FAR more susceptible to age spots - light blue & milky white ponies in particular often get it.  There's no conclusive evidence that age spots are contagious, beyond 'the problem happens more often to ponies kept in similar storage conditions'. 

This is such a good explanation!

I just use broad descriptions "brown spots in plastic that cannot be removed by general cleaning". I think everyone can understand that. I get confused by all the terms out there, because some seem to overlap, especially the whole "mold / cancer" terms.
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
 

:: my etsy :: 3DS FC 1735-9876-4867 // SW-8381-5856-2018

Offline Taffeta

  • Trade Count: (+62)
  • Colombian Baby Pony
  • ******
  • Posts: 16065
  • Gender: Female
  • UK Pony, Jem and Mediaeval Japanese obsessive :D
    • View Profile
    • The My Little Pony Scrapbook

I just use broad descriptions "brown spots in plastic that cannot be removed by general cleaning". I think everyone can understand that. I get confused by all the terms out there, because some seem to overlap, especially the whole "mold / cancer" terms.

I do this too, for the same reasons. After 20 years of seeing people use the same terms differently, I no longer pretend to understand any of them (if I ever did) and so don't use them at all. I describe what I see. You can't go wrong with that...
visitors can't see pics , please register or login
|夏草やつわものどもが夢の跡|

Offline kissthethunder

  • Trade Count: (+44)
  • Rapunzel Pony
  • *****
  • Posts: 3885
  • Gender: Female
  • shifting through the maples for Oakley
    • View Profile
    • http://kiss-the-thunder.deviantart.com/
Yeah, how did smooze come to be used as a synonym for pindot/age spots, anyway? I've never understood that one, it's vague and it doesn't really.. make sense, considering smooze in the movie had nothing to do with deteriorating plastic XD

That's easy to answer! Back in the day pretty much anything that was near impossible to remove often fell under the term because it, like smooze from the movie, takes a lot of effort to get off your pony if at all. It was just an affectionate term people adopted much like bronies might call a ponies symbols cutie marks or might playfully say that an unwanted spot on their pony is cutiepox.

Oooh, now that actually *does* make sense! I've always wondered about that :D Thanks for telling me!!

It's also why the term is now so confused and people use it for lots of different problems.

Still holding out for the day someone actually comes here with a genuine smoozed pony. Slime is popular at the moment, so I figure it's a possible reality to happen..

I feel I find some nostalgia in the term and use it affectionately to my own G1's. I always thought the term was really cute and showed how much people loved their ponies and 'got into it'. It added a small little adult version of make believe in explaining away certain conditions so if you have a pony with some issues you can laugh and say, 'oh poor thing got hit with the smooze'. Not everything needs to make sense by technical reasons. Sometimes it's as simple as people just liking to use the term and as it hurts no one why worry.

In any case most collectors know not to use smooze as term when describing pony issues to sell in any case so its not a problem in my eyes. Pindot, plastic deterioration, vinyl leaching- people know what their talking about.

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal