Porous plastic? Picture heavy (plus longish)

[Sugar]

So...

I got a few G1s (near miraculously, ones I'd been missing) from my thrift shop contact on Friday - they're a manky lot, but salvageable.  I hope.  Right now, I've started working on Dancing Butterflies, who initially looked gorgeous (for a thrift pony) and made me almost with joy.  I've been hoping to find her for a while!  Here's a quick photo:

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A little dirty, I thought, but not too shabby!

I looked closer, however, and this is what I found (apologies for the crummy photos; I need to upgrade my camera, it seems!):

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Ingrained dirt!  Everywhere on her body!  (Her head, paradoxically, is completely free of i.d. except for the edges of her ears... thank goodness.)  Poor Dancing Butterflies... she was mortified.

So anyway, she has her issues, but she's lovely anyway, and I attacked her with boiling hot water and my fingernails, and antibacterial hand soap, and I'm having some wonderful success getting the gunge out of her (photos eventually when I'm happy with her cleanliness)... but here's the thing.  The plastic, especially on her hooves, seems to be extra... porous now.  Almost... spongelike in places.  F'rinstance, I had on a pair of red pyjama bottoms while I was working, and her hooves picked up a tinge of red in the pores that I'd just scrubbed clean!  I had to rescrub with a vengeance, and it did come away, but with more difficulty than the original blech.  Now I'm wondering, will she stay extra-porous and prone to picking up dirt at the slightest provocation, or will she eventually settle down and not be so... finicky?  Does anypony have words of wisdom to share about the removal of ingrained dirt and pony pores?  Thanks!

[partypony566]

Hmm....I'm not sure about the sponginess....and maybe the pindot has left big pores so any other small particles can get in there. I've never had it happen to me though.

[FantasticFirefly]

She'll stay porous, sadly. I wonder if anyone has tried (after cleaning out the dirt) filling in the little holes with something like clear wax? I wouldn't recommend something like that on a valuable pony, but a common inexpensive one it may make it easier to keep them looking nice without fear of dust collecting in all those little spaces.

Partypony, It's a bit of a factory flaw. either the surface already had exposed bubble holes, or was bubbled near the surface and that surface wore down with playing, scrubbing with acetone or magic eraser etc. I have some moc's that are clean, but I can see little holes where dirt would collect.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

My theory is that the factories had terrible air quality and dust was freely floating around.  Clearly the mold for this pony didn't get filled with PVC, air bubbles formed and gave an opportunity for dust/fuzzies to ingrain themselves into the pores. 

[mlp4me]

I've had about 6 of her come in and out of my collection over the last few years, all but 1 had the smoozy/greyish porus feet/wings/ear tips, etc... I've treasured my one that's in good condition. I've yet to come across a blossom that doesn't have this issue too...
Congrats on your new finds! :o)

[NoPonySpecial]

I didn't know Blossom had a tendency to have that issue. Well, good, my Blossom doesn't feel as bad about her dirty pores anymore. 

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Hee hee, ponies with acne problems...    All part of growing up and getting older I guess...

[tulagirl]

I like the  idea of filling the pores.

[partypony566]

my blossom has that issue too

[FantasticFirefly]

Thanks, I'm going to test it! I just have to find something common enough that I don't care if it doesn't work. Clean her, fill her then leave her out to see if dirt can still recollect in the pores.

[hathorcat]

Cant wait to hear how you get on FantasticFirefly!

As mentioned unfortunately this is pretty standard for ponies which have in grained dirt - the dirt causes pock marks when it is scrubbed out and while I have heard of some people having mild success by then boiling a pony in an attempt to recover plastic memory and lessen the little pot holes, it doesnt always work.

[Spectrum]

My NM Dancing Butterflies has the same problem around her hooves, but not as much.

[Sugar]

Thanks, everypony!   I'm still working on de-grotting Dancing Butterflies, but I'll post progress pics probably by the weekend.  I've actually gotten her fairly well improved, but I like the wax/clear coat idea and I may give it a go.  This DB has another issue that's prompting me to seek out an upgrade anyway, so I might as well do my experimentation on her.   Don't worry - ponies that wind up too dinged or marked - even for my easy-going little collection - take it in turns to grace my desk at work, so she'll be well-loved no matter what.