Stumped with restoration. UPDATED

[strawberrypony]

Ive been restoring a big haul of g1s and I have a teeny tiny baby pony, the littlest cutest thing, but it has tail rust and all of the other ponies have been thoroughly cleaned I just cant seem to get the baby's head off. The beddy bye eye baby was loads easier than this , which says alot. haha The plastic has fused together. Ive heated her in hot water and soaked her in hot water, but I didnt want to soak her too long just in case I couldnt get her head off I didnt want to make her rust too bad. I dried her really well after, or least as much as possible.

Does anyone know any other way of getting it off? I never cut their heads off so I would rather her have tail rust than cut her. I dont think she has any mildew or too much rust inside, most ponies I find with really stuck on heads rarely have much gunk aside from whats at the tail so im not horribly worried considering how bad the other ponies I bought with her were I just hate for her to go without being thoroughly cleaned.

(ps, i'll post pics of the restoration and haul later )



UPDATE: I have finally removed the teeny tiny baby's head!  It was a heck of a struggle... very possibly the worst struggle I have ever had with a pony even.. The glue was far too solid nothing would break it down, hot water, hairdryer, acetone, nothing.  I had to resort to using metal tools and a exacto knife very carefully. ( My fingers are sore now as well) The glue was so solid and thick that was unable to see the neck plug thats why I hadnt been able to see much before, I sadly ended up cutting up the neck plug pretty good but the outside of the pony is safe!! and all I need to do is glue the neck plug back in place and it should be fine for when I stick her head back on. Her rusty tail has finally been removed but I am never doing that again  the stress of being afraid i was going to ruin her was too much. Whew.. but shes ready for restoration and will shortly join my little pony nursery of babies! <3 Thanks to everyone for suggesting helpful ideas!

[Aadra310]

I’ve done the hot water thing and then used an exacto knife to cut into the neck seam.  Sometimes if you can just get it started, you might be able to pull it off.  I’ve had some that were so hard, I had to cut all the way around.  It usually turns out fine if you are patient and go slow.  Reheat as necessary to keep plastic soft.

[Safflower]

Once you heat it up you can stick a butterknife in a weak area and go from there. If the neck seal is mint, you will have to use an exacto knife and cut into it. Once you have it started you may not need to cut very much though.

If you leave the rust it can get worse. Also, things can get pretty bad even if the neck seal is intact. I would pop her head off even if it meant cutting the seal.

[strawberrypony]

I was really hoping to avoid cutting  . Ive tried wedging a thin metal thing( just a random metal thing with a handle I use for these things) into the weakest spot but its so fused theres no visible divide from the head and body, all I can get open is just the outer line, anything else looks like one piece Ive never seen a pony that looks like that before. Is that what a mint seal looks like?

[katrine2309]

I have used exacto knife too. You don’t cut the actual pony- that is why you use exacto. You cut the glue. If you do it slow and easy, it does less damage to the actual pony than boiling or using something else. When you pry the head it usually gives a little at least one place. Just gently cut the glue there, and she will quickly give you more to work with. Just remember to NOT cut the plastic. Always cut the glue

[hathorcat]

There are a couple which have defeated me over the years but I refuse to cut necks so I have had to resort to a lot of different options. The best one ever is heat - I have wrapped a neck in white cotton (normally a bit of old pillow case) and poured very very very hot (be careful) water over it. Repeat it often enough or continue it long enough and most plastic will eventually soften.  Although I have also learned patience is key!

[Safflower]

I'm curious as to how it looks? You keep saying it's fused.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

Have you tried using a hair dryer to heat the seal?  I've used a hair dryer to remove Funko Pop heads.

[strawberrypony]

There are a couple which have defeated me over the years but I refuse to cut necks so I have had to resort to a lot of different options. The best one ever is heat - I have wrapped a neck in white cotton (normally a bit of old pillow case) and poured very very very hot (be careful) water over it. Repeat it often enough or continue it long enough and most plastic will eventually soften.  Although I have also learned patience is key!

Thank you! I'll have to add that to my list of things to try, I've already tried soaking her in hot water but who knows maybe this would work better. I wouldnt have to fully submerge her at least.   

I'm curious as to how it looks? You keep saying it's fused.

I wish I could take a picture but its so hard to pry to the side to see I have to do it with both hands, even after soaking! I'll try to explain.  Normally when removing a head after its heated you gently wedge something into the weakest spot and it pulls apart after a minute of coaxing the head off. You can always see the inner line where the inner rim of the head is glued to the inner rim of the body, you can even see it pull apart when it comes off. But on this baby pony I see no inner rim or anything, no line inside that shows where i should cut the glue, theres nothing. I dont know what in the world happened, it feels impossible to take off theres essentially no weak spots aside from me bending the head over and prying the crack open to see, just when I pry it like that it feels and looks solid. I was afraid i would tear it if i tried any harder, the teeny tiny babies are so hard they dont soften well

Have you tried using a hair dryer to heat the seal?  I've used a hair dryer to remove Funko Pop heads.

Ive tried heating them in water, but Im afraid a hair dryer would burn her hair off.  :/ Thank you though!

[NightGliderSA]

Oh dear, sorry about your pony dilemma! It is *possible* that at some stage someone has glued the pony's head back on with superglue. Superglue is terrible stuff, and helpful parents love it.

With regards to your worry about the hairdryer burning the hair, it hasn't on any of mine where I have used my hairdryer to heat up the neck seal and loosen it. I prefer to use the hairdryer on stubborn neck seals personally and have never had a problem.

Don't leave the rust inside the pony though as it will continue to corrode and the pony will eventually become stained.

Good luck!

[mlp4me]

I have to agree with the hair dryer... (I've put many heads back on with this method as well.)
If push comes to shove you could try dental floss or string dipped in acetone and work it into the neck seam. You just have to be careful to not get the acetone anywhere else on the pony...

[strawberrypony]

Oh dear, sorry about your pony dilemma! It is *possible* that at some stage someone has glued the pony's head back on with superglue. Superglue is terrible stuff, and helpful parents love it.

With regards to your worry about the hairdryer burning the hair, it hasn't on any of mine where I have used my hairdryer to heat up the neck seal and loosen it. I prefer to use the hairdryer on stubborn neck seals personally and have never had a problem.

Don't leave the rust inside the pony though as it will continue to corrode and the pony will eventually become stained.

Good luck!

I have to agree with the hair dryer... (I've put many heads back on with this method as well.)
If push comes to shove you could try dental floss or string dipped in acetone and work it into the neck seam. You just have to be careful to not get the acetone anywhere else on the pony...

Thank you both very very much!  Those are such wonderful ideas, I was so worried about the hairdryer because I had burned a barbie's hair once with one when I was little, its quite different hair though I'll definitely give it a good try! I didnt want to have to soak her anymore and make the rust worse. I'll post an update to let you all know how it goes!