Regrind or bleach or what? Photos included

[invaderhorizongreen]

That looks like bleach like damage to me.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Yeah that is acne cream damage.  So sad that people did this to their ponies...

[Khoufu]

Darn, he probably won't fit in my beanie baby display box.

Will sunlight really harm him?

I tossed him in my backpack with my other goodies from the meet, I hope that couple hours in there didn't transfer it to anyone else.

[Leave a Whisper]

It's acne cream. The blotch near his symbol has faded paint along with faded plastic, like something was applied on top. Plastic treated with acne cream can yellow (most noticeable in white ponies.) It's very spotty too. Regrind usually comes in neon colors like orange, pink, and purple and is fairly even. Mostly, orange and pink (and a few purple) ponies are more susceptible to regrind than others. Since you got him at a meet (right? I think you did?) it is more likely someone has tried to restore him before since he has likely been in collector hands for a while.

There is no telling how long it will take for blotches to show up on another pony who has been in contact. It could be anywhere from soon to years, so it's not the best test. I think Flutterscotch was doing experiments with age spots and other conditions under blacklight. She might know how to identify this using that, but I think it's pretty safe to say it's acne cream. Regrind just doesn't look like this. You should keep him quarantined. Congrats though, you must be very excited! He is an awesome pony

PVC breakdown is age spots right? Or plasticizer leakage?

Pvc breakdown is also known as pony cancer. I don't use that term because I don't like it.



Anyways, thanks for all the info. I didn't realize acne cream could transfer to other ponies, even years after.

[Khoufu]

And pony cancer is also called age spots.

[Safflower]

Ah. I don't like the term cancer either. Thanks.

[Sweet Daes]

Darn, he probably won't fit in my beanie baby display box.

Will sunlight really harm him?

I tossed him in my backpack with my other goodies from the meet, I hope that couple hours in there didn't transfer it to anyone else.

It's an extreme measure for my own speculation, but it makes sense. One of the methods some collectors use to remove pen marks from ponies is using the acne cream and then placing them in the sun for faster fading.

Assuming that they used one with Benzoyl Peroxide in it (which is likely), that works by peeling the layers of human skin, and dries it out. Those who use acne medications with Benzoyl Peroxide are recommended to stay out of the sun because the skin becomes much more sensitive and prone to sun damage. Benzoyl Peroxide also takes the color out of many colorfast materials (towels, bed sheets, etc), and they break down over time leading to fraying and wearing of fabric to brittle thinness.

I figure that if acne creams do similar damage to vinyl which can't be washed away that prolonged exposure to sunlight will likely hasten the effects of the color drain and potential breakdown of the material.

I am not a chemist by any means so feel free to take my speculations with a grain of salt, but the whole fact that Benzoyl Peroxide just isn't good for fabrics and is fairly harsh on human skin I'd take every precaution necessary.

[Khoufu]

Huh. When I used that type of acne cream, I was not told to stay out of the sun, though I'm guess that it's because the skin is peeling and you are down a layer of skin.

[strawberrypony]

I wonder if there is a way to try and remove the cream from the vinyl pores somehow? Like heating the pony up in water so the pores open and scrub those spots a bit to get them clean then switch to another washcloth or what ever you use for the rest of the pony? I dont know if that would work. The spots would obviously stay there but I wondered if that would help prevent transferring it to other surfaces.  It could make it worse though..so dont take my word on that. It could be a horrible idea, but an idea none the less :o Does anyone think that would work?

[Sweet Daes]

Huh. When I used that type of acne cream, I was not told to stay out of the sun, though I'm guess that it's because the skin is peeling and you are down a layer of skin.

I'm not sure how long ago that may have been, but the labels of most topical AB acne creams nowadays have sun exposure warnings. Some go as far as to state to use sunscreen after applying it, and if you go outside and redness/sensitivity develops to call your doctor.

It's an oxidizing agent, which means there is a reaction somehow to bring more oxygen. Granted, Benzoyl Peroxide is an organic peroxide, but the effect is the same. Oxidizers increase the burning off of fuels by increasing available oxygen. Being that it is that type of chemical it means it's also corrosive. That's why it peels the skin, and dries it out- two large factors that can help control acne breakouts.

We are likely witnessing the "peeling" of layers from the pony. In a lot of ways, I hope I'm wrong.