G3 Bait Hair Removal

[SparkleSkye]

G3 heads have a lot of glue inside them. So much glue that my usual method of bait prep hair removal (digging around with hemostats and pulling out chunks) usually does not work. I have broken a pair of hemostats trying to remove G3 hair.
So, does anyone have tricks for removing the hair roots/getting through the glue? I've tried boiling water to little success, and steel tools for carving clay with slightly more but still not consistent success.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

How long are you boiling the pony for? Some people recommend a few minutes.
Do you have pliers? The extra sturdiness may be enough to pull out the largest chunks.

[MerryAnvil]

G3 heads are ridiculous, lol! It's unbelievable how much glue they manage to fill them up with.

First I start by cutting the mane as close as humanly possible to the neck without damaging the plastic. It's much easier to deal with when the roots are super short. Then I move on to needle-nose pliers, and what I do is just put the pliers into the head and wiggle them back and forth to scrape at and loosen the glue. Then I pluck the chunks out. It's pretty time-consuming but it gets the job done! Needle-nose pliers are definitely a helpful tool to have around. I don't think I've ever removed hair any other way, honestly.

[Shaiyeh]

I  do what dakotadarkhooves do Some plugs I try to push in from the outside, too. Sometimes that helps

[Sweet Daes]

I behead my ponies before I boil and boil for about 10 minutes on a general day. I also spritz with some "goo remover", like Goo Gone or Goof Off (which Goof Off is my preference) and scrape the inside with a butter knife that I purchased just for pony making intermittently with the boiling.

I also have a pair of 5in needle-nose pliers that I use for it, but make sure that you have on some nice work gloves to protect from blisters and work-rubs. Life is awful for the next week after when you do more than 4 at one time in one sitting with bare hands and pliers.

If worst comes to worse then I boil for about 20mins to soften the glue entirely- just be aware that some hair may transfer-bleed onto the head, so cut the hair prior to this.

I do not recommend using acetone to help loosen it. I think they use more of a non-toxic epoxy because acetone barely touches it and it makes more of a mess than anything.

I don't like pushing from the outside in because it's so easy to cut or rip the vinyl when the holes are so close together. I have yet to see a pony with nice, uniform holes so I try to avoid it, but sometimes you just have to  x.x

[aintnobuffalo]

Yes G3 heads are the worst to dehair, it seems! Looks like excellent advise was already given. I also do the push through method from the outside. You don't necessarily have to do every hole that way, but it breaks the glue a bit and can loosen up the rest if you're only careful not to puncture the holes too thick. I use a thumbtack.