The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Nemesis on May 28, 2019, 02:32:28 PM
-
I have two Rainbow Curl ponies with SEVERE tail rust. Unfortunately, Rainbow Curls have heads that are fused to their bodies... I know some people actually hack through the plastic to remove the heads, but I really don’t want to do that. ;_; What are my options?
Thanks!
-
That’s a tough one...what I would try to do is take a toothbrush with minty toothpaste and scrub the area where the tail comes out... that may help but it won’t get to of the tailrust completely. So, I guess just give then a bath and scrub..
That’s about as much advice as I can give. Maybe someone else can give you some other tips?
Good luck on your cleaning! 🧼
-
I can't think of much in regards to fixing it without removing the head, but if you end up needing to remove the head without a hacksaw, you can use nail polish remover to loosen it up, run her neck under hot tap water or just leave water+conditioner in their hair overnight or over several nights, this is how I fixed several ponies horrible hair but I accidentally dissolved like half of Sand Digger's neck glue so it may work. I also had a Raincurl use this same treatment but her neck is still fine so idk.
-
Their heads should still come off as normal, right? :what: You may have to cut through some of the glue, but the heads should be re-attachable after you're done as long as you don't cut through the neck plug...unless they just don't have neck plugs, which is weird to me. If you use an x-acto blade carefully you should be safe...otherwise the rust will just keep coming back.
-
If you use a hairdryer it may loosen the glue enough that you're able to pull off the head. :)
You can also carefully insert an Xacto knife into the neck seam to "get it started" and then try to pull the head off. In some cases I've been able to get a neck plug a tiny bit out, and have used the straight end of a spoon as a lever to pry the neck off.
-
Thanks for the advice, guys!
From what I can see, their heads are actually MELDED to the bodies. I dug into the neck seam a bit (with difficulty) and discovered that the neck/head meet appears to be a solid mass. o_0; Believe me, I heated up the head like crazy... It honestly doesn’t look like there’s any glue to melt... just plastic. DX
In this video, you can see someone encountering the same issue while trying to remove the head from a Streaky: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eIPkuxnH6EI
-
It's not melded, but I know the look. It's very strong glue, but the neck plug is normal.
You may have to use your hobby knife to dig downward and try to cut around the seam. Even if you do a hack job, it will still look a lot better than if you saw straight through the head.
-
It's not melded, but I know the look. It's very strong glue, but the neck plug is normal.
You may have to use your hobby knife to dig downward and try to cut around the seam. Even if you do a hack job, it will still look a lot better than if you saw straight through the head.
Wow. That is some crazy-hardcore glue. O_O It really seems like it would have loosened up a bit since the 80’s. DX Hmm... I’ll give it another inspection tomorrow.
UPDATE:
I DID manage to remove her tail by tugging at it after softening up the plastic with hot water. The washer had crumbled to bits, and it came out smoothly. There is still rusty residue inside the body, but the metal parts have been removed and all external signs of rust cleaned up.
MY CURRENT DILEMMA IS:
1: I have filled the body with Oxi-clean/water, then rinsed, washed, and drained it repeatedly (through the tail opening). How can I make sure she dries out completely without taking off the head? Maybe a hair dryer?
2: Will leaving the remaining rust inside the body cause problems down the road, even now that the source has been removed (the pony in question is pristinely white at this time; could the rust cause staining or discoloration)?
-
The washer probably came loose and is still in the body. Shake her and see if she rattles, or hold her up to a strong light and see if you can see it. (Sometimes it gets stuck in a pony's hoof.)
If the washer is still in there, it could cause the interior of the body to get coated in rust. But draining her thoroughly makes that less likely to happen. :) The good news is that even if she gets interior rust, it usually doesn't do permanent harm . . . The rust just kind of sits on top of the vinyl and is easy to scrub off.
When draining a pony, I usually put them upside down or awkwardly sitting on their hind legs so that the water can drain out the tail area or mane plugs. Leave her like that for several days and the water should drain out. :) The hair dryer is also a great idea!
-
Whew. I’m really glad to hear that. I’ve never had trouble getting rust off of ponies, but I wasn’t sure if it could seep into the vinyl and stain over time... Glad to hear it’s not an issue.
The very, very rusty washer had crumbled to pieces. With the aid of needle-nose pliers and a lot of patience, I managed to shake all of the pieces into the tail area, crush them up with the pliers, and pull them out one by one. >_<; No more rattle! XD The good news is, Ringlet rattles like a maraca, so I’m pretty sure her washer is broken as well. I should be able to pull off the same thing with her as I did with Raincurl today.
I’ll give them a bit of blow drying, then let them sit out for a few days, to be extra sure. :) Thanks for the advice!
-
You need to come to my apartment. My sink water gets insanely hot. I just too the neck plug out of a G4 without cutting it gets so hot.
-
I hope your restoration is a success, and it sounds like you're doing the right things and have more patience than I'd have.
Rust is the one thing I can't STAND, whether on ponies or anything else. There's a rusty gate in one of the parks near me and I won't touch it.
-
So what I'd do..
Dunk the pony in almost boiling water for 10 seconds ( but a heat gun wood be better. Water can make it slippery and dangerous).
And make a small cut with a new exacto blade.. in-between the neck and body. Make a small cut when it's hot. Doesn't have to be deep.
I'd repeat all the way around the neck. The point is to be slow and precise. And a knife will cut best when it's soft, so keep reheating.
Then I'd see if it was ready to pop off. If not, I'd repeat the process again.
The reality is if the head stays on, you can't get all of the rust out. I've seen rust so bad that it cakes in the legs and you can see it from the outside.
-
You need to come to my apartment. My sink water gets insanely hot. I just too the neck plug out of a G4 without cutting it gets so hot.
Oh, believe me... My kitchen tap gets nearly to the boiling point. XD I’ll try again with Ringlet to loosen up the glue, but I’m not hopeful. :shrug:
I hope your restoration is a success, and it sounds like you're doing the right things and have more patience than I'd have.
Rust is the one thing I can't STAND, whether on ponies or anything else. There's a rusty gate in one of the parks near me and I won't touch it.
Ick, I know right? I wish they would just use rust-proof metal for everything (very realistic, I know). XD
The reality is if the head stays on, you can't get all of the rust out. I've seen rust so bad that it cakes in the legs and you can see it from the outside.
Thank you for your advice! I know exactly what you’re talking about with the caked rust. Fortunately, these two don’t seem to have an INSANE amount of rust... There’s definitely still some in there, but a lot came out with the Oxi-clean soaks. If it were ever to get to the point where I could see it from the outside, I’ll keep your method in mind. :)
-
If any bits of the washer is still inside, and you added moisture to the inside...it will just continue to rust...
-
Well, I tried soaking Ringlet in boiling water, and the neck is still on tight. DX I got her tail out and gave her the same treatment as Raincurl. I also used Q-tips to reach in and clean out the rust in the body and back legs, which worked extremely well.
I shone a bright light under the ponies to illuminate any dark splotches inside. The majority of the rust was concentrated around the body, and there isn’t much in the head or front legs, from what I can see. The body/back leg rust has now been cleaned out, so they’re in pretty good shape! I couldn’t find any more washer pieces after a lot of shaking, prodding, and rinsing out. I did a pretty thorough sweep.