Will anything happen if I don\'t remove tail rust?

[sunshinedim]

I have a G1 pony that I got last year from facebook marketplace. She came to me with tail rust. At first I thought of trying to remove the head so I can clean it on the inside.... but I was too scared to remove the pony head. I heard stories about the rust spreading and destroyingthe pony, is that true? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Personally for me the rust is only visible at the root of the tail so it doesn't bother me that much (from an aesthetic point of view). But I am worried of damage that might happen to the pony in the future if I don't do anything about it.

Post Merge: January 10, 2022, 05:27:06 AM

Omg I just realised I posted this on the 'introductions' by accident  I am so sorry! Is it possible to move this to Pony Corral?

[snowflurs]

Hello, you can definitely safely take the head off to clean the rust from the washer inside the body. My best advice is to take the washer out completely and deep clean the body and hair. Then you can replace the washer with some zip ties and put the pony back together. There are great videos on YouTube that show the whole process. Just look up "My Little Pony Restoration" and there should be plenty of examples. Best of luck!

[pinkkittywinks]

It needs to be removed or it will continue to rust and stain the pony on the inside and those stains might not come out. It will also rot the root of the hair in the tail too

Love pkw xxx

[Taffeta]

I don't take off pony heads, pretty much ever. I've also got plenty of ponies who have a tiny amount of tail rust and have been so since the late 1990s without any change whatsoever. I think that keeping a close eye on it is important, and not letting it stay in damp conditions is also key. But it isn't a guarantee that a pony will get worse. In fact, the ONLY example of that happening among my ponies was in one of my flat foots, who have bigger and heavier washers anyway.

I feel like taking the head off and replacing the washer is sometimes like replacing the windows in a house by knocking the house down. But this is a personal choice, just there are plenty of people who would see removing the head and esp. the tail washer as pretty destructive in its own right. It's a matter IMO of deciding which is more destructive overall, and that's a case by case judgement.

Sea pony tail weights are another matter, as they've frequently been exposed to water and thus the damage can be much worse, especially the white ones. But whether to remove the head and do anything about it is again, a bit of a serious choice.

[LadyMoondancer]

Whether the rust spreads inside the pony really depends on how damp it is inside her.  It's not a guarantee that a pony with tail rust will have it spread.

If you do replace the tail washer, be aware that the tail clasp does NOT rust, so you don't have to replace it.  Personally when I replace a washer, I use rubber washers of a similar size (from the hardware store).  To me that makes more sense / seems more secure than zipties.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Whether the rust spreads inside the pony really depends on how damp it is inside her.  It's not a guarantee that a pony with tail rust will have it spread.

If you do replace the tail washer, be aware that the tail clasp does NOT rust, so you don't have to replace it.  Personally when I replace a washer, I use rubber washers of a similar size (from the hardware store).  To me that makes more sense / seems more secure than zipties.

Definitely a point worth making that a partly rusted tail washer will only continue to rust quickly in the right conditions, so if you want to try to keep the original parts (after a cleanup) that's a valid option.

This makes me think what if we could find nylon gaskets that are the same size as G1 tail washers? I would use those... After that conversation the other day about nylon zipties being OK with ponies because after all the hair is nylon.



Post Merge: January 21, 2022, 04:57:38 AM

I don't take off pony heads, pretty much ever. I've also got plenty of ponies who have a tiny amount of tail rust and have been so since the late 1990s without any change whatsoever. I think that keeping a close eye on it is important, and not letting it stay in damp conditions is also key. But it isn't a guarantee that a pony will get worse. In fact, the ONLY example of that happening among my ponies was in one of my flat foots, who have bigger and heavier washers anyway.

I feel like taking the head off and replacing the washer is sometimes like replacing the windows in a house by knocking the house down. But this is a personal choice, just there are plenty of people who would see removing the head and esp. the tail washer as pretty destructive in its own right. It's a matter IMO of deciding which is more destructive overall, and that's a case by case judgement.

Sea pony tail weights are another matter, as they've frequently been exposed to water and thus the damage can be much worse, especially the white ones. But whether to remove the head and do anything about it is again, a bit of a serious choice.

it is a really serious choice (in Ponyland anyway) and I can add to this that Sea Ponies can be quite hard to ge the heads off, so I would suspect easily torn. Also I have noticed that they don't fit together that well without glue, perhaps something to do with the shape. I'm glad my girls are rust free now but I would not say that I have improved the condition as such.

[pinkkittywinks]

This makes me think what if we could find nylon gaskets that are the same size as G1 tail washers? I would use those... After that conversation the other day about nylon zipties being OK with ponies because after all the hair is nylon.

The plumbing section in B&Q

Love pkw xxx

[TimeDance]

If you can easily turn the head left and right then you can take the head on and off without too much risk of damaging the pony. If the pony head is glued on solid, then you would be in for a fight and a much higher risk of damaging the pony.

I would definitely replace the washer if the pony head comes off easy. If it's glued on and not moving and the tail is only a little bit rusty maybe leave it alone and keep it dry. Revisit the issue if the rust visibly seems to be getting worse.

[Purpleglasses]

If I encounter a stubborn pony head I need to remove, I dunk the pony in boiling water, and then start dripping in acetone on a q tip onto the neck seam, starting at the place where the heat of the boiling water split the neck seam. If I’m nervous about the paint I cover the painted parts in paper towels secured with rubber bands. I pour boiling water over the neck seam often to keep the plastic soft as I work. So far, I have only had clean head body splits using this method.

Now I just need to sit back and take a moment to consider how terrifying all those sentences are if you don’t have the context of plastic ponies. Oof!

[goddessofpeep]

I am not skilled with head removal or dealing with tail rust.  For ponies I buy myself, tail rust usually lands them in the trade bin for someone else to deal with later.  For ponies I get as gifts with tail rust, generally just tie a ribbon over it and leave it alone.  I haven’t seen much spread myself, but I do live in a very dry climate.  I just make sure they never get near moisture of any kind and don’t mess with them.