So-Soft Lofty - How I Did My First Deflocking

[JanuaryJoy]

I scored G1 Lofty and Princess Misty for $2 at a garage sale in July 2018. Misty's in perfectly reasonable condition, but even after I cleaned Lofty, she was the WORST I've had in my collection. Her dry mane and tail were frizzy, she smelled of mildew, and her flocking was balding/thinning...

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Now, two years later, I knew I could transform her! I recently learned how to fix pony hair, and researched other people's deflocking techniques. This is what I did:

1) I took Lofty apart: easily popped her head off.
2) I filled my bathroom sink with the hottest soapy water it could do (hot enough it hurt to touch), to soak her head and body for several minutes.
3) I grabbed a pair of scissors, and meticulously scrapped at all of her flocking for hours! I re-filled the sink with hotter water multiple times to dunk her regularly.
4) I lathered her wet mane and tail in conditioner and used my mom's (LOL) flat iron on its second-lowest setting to soften them. I dried her mane in tiny curlers.
5) I bought 100% acetone nail polish to remove Lofty's remaining glue residue. I went outside, sat down, and scrubbed her everywhere for a few hours, careful to avoid painted details.
6) I gently cleaned her a final time, let her dry out overnight, and reassembled her to finish!
 

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I started Lofty's restoration on New Year's Eve and finished everything yesterday. She's SO much prettier than before! The deflock did reveal several mold spots inside and outside of her body. I also neglected to remove flocking bits from between her roots and had nothing to scrub glue from her painted details. Regardless, I'm extremely happy with the results!

How'd I do? I'm also curious how y'all deflock your So-Softs differently.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Wow great job

[Ponybookworm]

She looks so much better for that xxx

[glitterball]

Doing a de-floc needs to be tried at least once - it is a labour of love and the satisfaction gained from completing one is sweeeet.

I did this to a baity Paradise - she came out great but WOW so much effort cleaning off the glue & fluff, then being extra careful around the eyes and symbols, repeating the process over stubborn bits, boiling pony parts on the stove to keep everything soft...

Well done, Lofty looks lovely!! You must be very proud of your hard work!! 

[LadyAmalthea]

She looks lovely! I've only deflocked one pony so far...a poor Ribbon who came brown and dirty in a bait lot. I soaked her in a hot Oxyclean bath, and scrubbed her with an old toothbrush. Good old elbow grease! For her legs, I wrapped an old washcloth around each one and gripped my hand around it to scrub as well. Like you, I also left the bits in between her mane; I thought at the time I would have to rehair her because she was so nasty, and figured I'd scrub that part when the time came to pull her original mane out, but her hair cleaned up okay, so I'm leaving it for now. I never did open her all the way up to check her insides...I probably should, as bad as she was...but her neck plug was starting to tear so again, I put that off until later and never got around to it. Here are some before and afters...I can't believe how bright and beautiful these girls are under their flocking! I like to think she's happier after being liberated of all that funk. I'm debating on whether or not I want to deflock my Shady or not...she is in bad shape, but not really dirty, just rubbed...problem is, she's a childhood pony and I'm a little bit sentimental of her the way she is. I really like how Shady looks deflocked, though! I can't decide.

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[Minty_Magic]

She looks so much happier! I’m generally all for keeping flocking if it’s salvageable, but some ponies just need a new life, and it looks like Lofty was one of those ponies!

I’ve only done one defrock of a magic star, similar to you method actually! And it was sooo satisfying I think I want more bait so softs to deflock! I love the bright colors they have underneath

[pandabear_chan]

Wow you guys did an awesome job deflocking the girls. The thing is that Hasbro used tons of glue for these girls in the 80ths, not knowing (or taking care) that the glue will yellow over time, making the pony kind of disgusting looking. So my friend told me they used carpet glue for it. I do the same currently but in the opposite direction. I reflock ponies that were cleaned and her body color freshed up before making them plushy again. 

[starrynights]

Good work! Deflocking is a hard task

[maycrestmom]

well done :-) love her yellow now

carpet glue = well that explains alot

I swear by using jasco to help remove the goo quicker  while agreeing it is worth the labor to reveal those beautiful bright colors

[PrincessKittyDragon]

She looks wonderful :o congrats!! I love those curls!