Pony Mail - Barnacle In Need of TLC

[MerryAnvil]

In addition to the Wigwam I took a chance on recently, I also took a chance on a $3 Barnacle on Etsy. I could tell he had a bad haircut, was discolored, and his symbols were a bit faded, although the seller claimed he 'just had a haircut and was in overall good condition, from a smoke-free home'. But hey, he was $3 plus shipping. Even for a complete bait-y Big Brother that was an okay deal, right?

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He arrived yesterday in the absolute worst packaging I have ever had a pony shipped to me in. It was - and I am completely serious here, as you can see from the photos - one polyethylene foam sheet wrapped in either duct tape or packaging tape, I can't tell which. It FEELS like duct tape but it has warnings on it like packaging tape. Either way, that was all he arrived in. No box, no envelope. Just...foam and tape.

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So onto the poor boy. Um...yeah. He did not look this bad in the photos. He still looked a little blue in the photos. In actuality, he is completely green-ish grey, and smells heavily of smoke, something the seller did not disclose to me beforehand. Needless to say, the seller got a one star review (which is not something I do often if at all, but this was pretty bad).

For comparison, here were the seller's photos:

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However, I am not giving up on this boy! I'm going to try to restore him as my first major restoration project. For now, I am trying to get rid of the smoke smell with cat litter. If that doesn't work, I'll try the charcoal method from MLP Preservation Project. Here he is in phase one of the de-stink treatment >u<

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I'm not sure if it would be okay to tell their username here publicly, so if you'd like to know who they are in order to avoid purchasing from them (they have several other ponies listed across multiple sites, not just Etsy) please PM me and I will tell you <3

[Leave a Whisper]

  Wooooow. That packaging is amazing for all the wrong reasons. I mean, bubble mailers are cheap and easy to find everywhere and work great for ponies.

Still, I'm glad he's got a home with you and you'll be working on trying to make him presentable again. That crusty ol'  pirate has surely seen a lotta sea battles sez I.

[MerryAnvil]

Wooooow. That packaging is amazing for all the wrong reasons. I mean, bubble mailers are cheap and easy to find everywhere and work great for ponies.

Still, I'm glad he's got a home with you and you'll be working on trying to make him presentable again. That crusty ol'  pirate has surely seen a lotta sea battles sez I.

Right? Oh my goodness. And presumably since they're trying to sell collectables, this is at least a side business for them. They aren't going to get very far if this is how they package their items.

Haha very true! Poor ol' boy.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Yikes, I've gotten some smokey ponies before. If it's cold where you are I found a vinegar paper towel wrap and some cold air helped out.

[Leave a Whisper]

I had good luck with airing out and wrapping them in laundry sheet filled bags. That's how my boyfriend and I got the cigarette stench out of a Chief he bought for my daughter.

[caseysealia]

I've heard baking soda and vinegar take away the smoke smell, but don't quote me, I've used it and it seemed to work with cleaning at least. I  wish you the best in restoring him since it looks like it'll be a challenge! But none the less it'll be worth it when its all said and done  Maybe he'd work as a custom? 

I'll pm you at somepoint asking for the seller info myself as I'm picky about that stuff. Its so disgusting that they'd do that, even at that price its still dishonesty. He's cute though. Hair chopped Barneys work

[MerryAnvil]

Yikes, I've gotten some smokey ponies before. If it's cold where you are I found a vinegar paper towel wrap and some cold air helped out.

I had good luck with airing out and wrapping them in laundry sheet filled bags. That's how my boyfriend and I got the cigarette stench out of a Chief he bought for my daughter.

I've heard baking soda and vinegar take away the smoke smell, but don't quote me, I've used it and it seemed to work with cleaning at least. I  wish you the best in restoring him since it looks like it'll be a challenge! But none the less it'll be worth it when its all said and done  Maybe he'd work as a custom? 

I'll pm you at somepoint asking for the seller info myself as I'm picky about that stuff. Its so disgusting that they'd do that, even at that price its still dishonesty. He's cute though. Hair chopped Barneys work

Thank you all for your advice! I did end up taking his hair out due to it possibly holding some of the smoke smell (there wasn't much left anyway and I plan to rehair him, although I do think he looked cute with the short hair). I actually tried an OxiClean bath and then let him soak in hydrogen peroxide out in the sun for the day, and it helped with the smoke smell. It also looks like it took the first grimy layer off, so here's hoping I can get him a little brighter with that method!

[caseysealia]

Yikes, I've gotten some smokey ponies before. If it's cold where you are I found a vinegar paper towel wrap and some cold air helped out.

I had good luck with airing out and wrapping them in laundry sheet filled bags. That's how my boyfriend and I got the cigarette stench out of a Chief he bought for my daughter.

I've heard baking soda and vinegar take away the smoke smell, but don't quote me, I've used it and it seemed to work with cleaning at least. I  wish you the best in restoring him since it looks like it'll be a challenge! But none the less it'll be worth it when its all said and done  Maybe he'd work as a custom? 

I'll pm you at somepoint asking for the seller info myself as I'm picky about that stuff. Its so disgusting that they'd do that, even at that price its still dishonesty. He's cute though. Hair chopped Barneys work

Thank you all for your advice! I did end up taking his hair out due to it possibly holding some of the smoke smell (there wasn't much left anyway and I plan to rehair him, although I do think he looked cute with the short hair). I actually tried an OxiClean bath and then let him soak in hydrogen peroxide out in the sun for the day, and it helped with the smoke smell. It also looks like it took the first grimy layer off, so here's hoping I can get him a little brighter with that method!

Ooo what color are you going to rehair him? His original or a new color? Can't wait to see pics, he's gonna look lovely!

[PrincessKittyDragon]

Thats so sad!!   Barnacle is one of my favorite boy ponies, I really hope you can get him restored, you should update us if you do, especially if the cat litter or charcoal method works, could be very useful especially for us with sensitive allergies :>

[Carebearnmbr46]

    That’s no good!!  Some people really get me going!

[Heelys]

It's like one of Barnacle's own sea shanties.

what do you do with a smoky sailor /
what do you do with a stinky sailor /
what do you do with a skunk-en sailor /
early in the moooor-ning!
 

[MerryAnvil]

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Okay so it's very difficult to see the difference through photos but he's a little less dingy than when he arrived! The initial hydrogen peroxide/sun soak got the first grimy gross smoke layer off, making him look...lighter? He's not any more blue than he was, but he is a bit less brown/gray than he was, if that makes any sense at all ahaha. Unfortunately we've had nothing but rainy days lately so I haven't had the chance to do more sunfading, but I hope the weather will clear up and I can get him out there soon! I have a couple other ponies I'd like to try sunfading too, so it can be a party for them or something 

Ooo what color are you going to rehair him? His original or a new color? Can't wait to see pics, he's gonna look lovely!

I'm planning on rehairing him with his original colors, if I can color match properly! <3 I will definitely share pics!

Thats so sad!!   Barnacle is one of my favorite boy ponies, I really hope you can get him restored, you should update us if you do, especially if the cat litter or charcoal method works, could be very useful especially for us with sensitive allergies :>

I know, Barnacle is such a lovely pony! It's sad to see him in such a state. I will do my best to fix him up, and I will definitely share updates!

  That’s no good!!  Some people really get me going!

It truly is frustrating! I didn't expect much from the photos, but it really would have been nice to at least have been told about the smoke smell, and to have had him shipped in a bubble mailer instead of tape.

It's like one of Barnacle's own sea shanties.

what do you do with a smoky sailor /
what do you do with a stinky sailor /
what do you do with a skunk-en sailor /
early in the moooor-ning!
 

OMG xD That is an excellent shanty.

[tikibirds]

He arrived yesterday in the absolute worst packaging I have ever had a pony shipped to me in. It was - and I am completely serious here, as you can see from the photos - one polyethylene foam sheet wrapped in either duct tape or packaging tape, I can't tell which. It FEELS like duct tape but it has warnings on it like packaging tape. Either way, that was all he arrived in. No box, no envelope. Just...foam and tape

  Thats how the courier companies here send packages too. China Post wanted me to ship a small package to California in nothing but a black garbage bag wrapped up in packaging tape. I was like.. NO. Find a box (for some reason they couldn't use the box I had)

[Shy Violet]

Poor Barnicle. I'm glad he's in a good home now though and he's looking better already. I had a similar experience with a so soft Gusty from Etsy. She looked ok in the photos and when she arrived she was so brown and dingy. It took months of sunfading but she's looking much better now.

[MerryAnvil]

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We had an extremely beautiful day with strong UV rays, so I decided to take advantage of it and let Barnacle sit outside for awhile! I also gave him an Oxiclean bath afterwards because as soon as I pulled him out of the peroxide, he began leaking dirt out of his plastic. Gross! But I guess that means it's not only helping his discoloration, but also getting rid of the grime layers.

Then I decided to make a sort of progress compilation to show what his two hydrogen peroxide sessions have amounted to:

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Wow! He looks at least a couple shades bluer today after his bath. Also it's scary to see how much his symbol has faded after only two days in the sun with proper supervision and rotations. Good thing I was already planning on repainting it since it was already faded to begin with. Protect your (non-sunfading candidate) ponies from those harmful UV rays, people >u<

Thats how the courier companies here send packages too. China Post wanted me to ship a small package to California in nothing but a black garbage bag wrapped up in packaging tape. I was like.. NO. Find a box (for some reason they couldn't use the box I had)

Goodness me! Yes, tape and trash bags do not make for good packaging >o<;

Poor Barnicle. I'm glad he's in a good home now though and he's looking better already. I had a similar experience with a so soft Gusty from Etsy. She looked ok in the photos and when she arrived she was so brown and dingy. It took months of sunfading but she's looking much better now.

*shakes head* I am at a loss as to why you wouldn't disclose those flaws beforehand. Some people. I'm glad you were able to help her though!