The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Squirrelypaws on January 17, 2012, 03:41:14 PM
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I got a lot of G1 ponies that I'd bought on ebay today, and I need some advice on cleaning them.
One has a "fading" symbol; it gets lighter when you warm it and has a hidden symbol underneath. Anyway, her symbol's peeling off a bit on the edges, and it gets especially peel-y wen it's wet. She's got some marks that I want to try and get off, but I don't want to damage her symbol any more than it already is. Should I just leave her be, or go ahead and clean her but be careful of the symbol?
I see signs of rust on most of their tails. Should I pull their heads off and check inside, even if they're well-attached?
How do you clean the rust on the inside if they have it? What about other gunk?
Should I replace the tail washers?
A bunch of them have ground-in dirt. What's the best way to get that off?
Is there anything I can soak them in to take away the dirt that won't damage their paint or hair?
One has pink highlighter marks. Is there any way to remove or fade them without sunfading? Being the middle of winter, strong sunlight's a bit rare. XD
I suspect a few might have a touch of mold. What's a good way to clean it off?
A few have frizzy hair. Any tips on that? I have a straightener, but I'm a bit afraid to use it on them; don't wanna make the frizz worse.
Umm... I think that's everything! Any advice would be great!
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Here's what I'd do:
For rust of any kind, baking soda toothpaste is your best friend. I'd recommend removing the heads, taking out the tails, removing all of the tail's metal parts, and scrubbing the rusty tail with toothpaste. I highly recommend replacing the tail washers with either plastic cable ties or string.
For removing rust, mold, in-ground dirt, and other assorted yuckiness, I advise soaking the ponies in an Oxy-clean bath. WARNING - Do NOT use this method on ponies with tinsel, glitter symbols or Princess Ponies! It will strip the glitter and shiny stuff! For other ponies, it's fine. :3 If you need to scrub the insides, use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
For frizzy hair - Get the pony's hair wet and slather it in conditioner and comb it through. Set your straightener on the LOWEST HEAT SETTING and run it through the pony's hair a few times.
That's the extent of my pony-cleaning knowledge. Hopefully someone else can build on this and add anything that I may have left out.
Good luck!
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Magic Eraser. These are your best friend when cleaning! They remove many marks and do not damage paint (as long as you are not applying every bit of muscle you have into scrubbing) :)
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I've directly copied & pasted your questions & will try to answer what I can for you :) Good luck cleaning them up BTW
Q.One has a "fading" symbol; it gets lighter when you warm it and has a hidden symbol underneath. Anyway, her symbol's peeling off a bit on the edges, and it gets especially peel-y wen it's wet. She's got some marks that I want to try and get off, but I don't want to damage her symbol any more than it already is. Should I just leave her be, or go ahead and clean her but be careful of the symbol?
A. If you feel that she does need cleaning, try covering up her symbol with something soft so you don't damage it any more than you have to. Try not to we the whole pony, maybe clean with a cloth, sponge or toothbrush instead to try to keep the water "contained" a little better :) If you are happy to put her into your own collection I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning her however.
Q.I see signs of rust on most of their tails. Should I pull their heads off and check inside, even if they're well-attached?
A. As Kaeldre has said, baking soda toothpaste is great for tail rust, if you do pull off their heads to give them a diecent clean, be careful not to sever the head clean off the plug, take your time removing the head & try to gently pry it away. To clean insides soft toothbrush, cotton buds and other long instruments are best as there are so many little nooks & crannies inside a pony to try to clean.
Q.How do you clean the rust on the inside if they have it? What about other gunk?
A. With a toothbrush or cotton buds, baking soda toothpaste is great for rust, I have found bathroom mould killer works great at eliminating gunk, and also helps draw out alot of surface dirt from the plastic, be careful not to get this on your clothes as it will bleach them.
Q. Should I replace the tail washers?
A. If they are really rusted, yes its probably a good idea because they will just get worse over time, zippy ties or similar are a good replacement
Q. A bunch of them have ground-in dirt. What's the best way to get that off?
A. I would invest in a bottle of bathroom mould killer, this stuff is magic on that sort of thing, or magic eraser may work too, both are methods I use alot to clean up ponies that are espacially grungy.
Q. Is there anything I can soak them in to take away the dirt that won't damage their paint or hair?
A. I wouldn't like to comment here, as I would hate to give advice that would damage someone elses pony, so will leave this question for someone else :)
Q. One has pink highlighter marks. Is there any way to remove or fade them without sunfading? Being the middle of winter, strong sunlight's a bit rare.
A. If you can get hold of a UV or blacklight lamp / bulb, this will do the same thing as sunfading
Q. I suspect a few might have a touch of mold. What's a good way to clean it off?
A. Bathroom mould killer ;)
Q. A few have frizzy hair. Any tips on that? I have a straightener, but I'm a bit afraid to use it on them; don't wanna make the frizz worse.
A. Conditioner, not a cheap home brand one, comb through, if still frizzy there are ways of using straighteners on lower settings, I would however try it out on a really baity one first before trying to straighten a nice pony's hair.
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Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I'll post some pictures on the Brag board once I get them all cleaned up. ^_^
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Can't wait to see your ponies all cleaned up :D I hope all this advice helps you along the way :)
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You've got some fantastic advice here. Just be careful around the magic message ponies symbol, and I can't wait to see them all clean and pretty.
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I have one of those UV-lamps for curing gel nails and after reading Fingerpaints reply in this thread I decided to try fading a pony head in it.
It works brilliantly. I had a head that was a greenish tint and therefore not a match to the white body of said pony. That was yesterday. Today I have a pony head that is whiter than the now in comparison yellow body. ;)
The head was in the UV lamp thingie for approx 3 hours 3 times.
A shame I didn't take any proper before pictures...
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I have one of those UV-lamps for curing gel nails and after reading Fingerpaints reply in this thread I decided to try fading a pony head in it.
It works brilliantly. I had a head that was a greenish tint and therefore not a match to the white body of said pony. That was yesterday. Today I have a pony head that is whiter than the now in comparison yellow body. ;)
The head was in the UV lamp thingie for approx 3 hours 3 times.
A shame I didn't take any proper before pictures...
Wow!! I think that is awesome! Where did you buy something like that?
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Kittybethy: Ebay of course! :)
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I have one of those UV-lamps for curing gel nails and after reading Fingerpaints reply in this thread I decided to try fading a pony head in it.
It works brilliantly. I had a head that was a greenish tint and therefore not a match to the white body of said pony. That was yesterday. Today I have a pony head that is whiter than the now in comparison yellow body. ;)
The head was in the UV lamp thingie for approx 3 hours 3 times.
A shame I didn't take any proper before pictures...
Wow, I want one now! That's awesome :)
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Wow, I want one now! That's awesome :)
Just remember to get a big one so your big ponies will fit inside of the compartment. :) I realize they come in different sizes theese lamps. I figure you might as well buy any UV/blacklight bulb and put into a desk lamp really, but I just happened to have one of those UV gel nails curing lamps at home and figured I'd give it a go. :)
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Kittybethy: Ebay of course! :)
Should have known! Are they expensive?
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Ooh that is awesome :D I might look into getting one of them for myself. I have a blacklight globe somewhere, but we've moved house & I can't put my hand on it, a little box type thing would be so much easier and more convienient than a lamp, I could pull it out & plug it in as needed :D