I've lurked around in the forums looking for information about my questions here, but haven't entirely found answers. I hope you all won't mind if I ask them here, and please correct me if I'm doing this wrong. Pardon the severely unprofessional nature of any pictures included. In any case, I'll split this into categories.

Glitter symbols and UV fading
My personal favorite pony is Glory and she's been the first pony I've chosen to work on. The one I initially got has a pretty faded and de-glittered symbol, so I'm not quite as scared to work with her, but I ended up buying another one with a much more in tact symbol that I really don't want to damage.

I did some UV fading on the first Glory (hope it turned out well, not sure if I should do any more), and I'd like to do the same on the second. I'm really bad at cutting out masking tape to size, so I've been using tempera paint to protect symbols, blush, and eyes, but I'd like to know if the paint makes for acceptable protection and particularly if it might harm a glitter symbol in any way. I know there's methods of taping the non-sticky side of tape over glitter symbols so as not to damage them, but again, I'm bad as it is at taping over eyes and blush. In short, what are my options for protecting glitter symbols in the UV process?

Pardon the more faded Glory's head and taillessness, I'm currently working on her mane and tail, as I'll talk about later.

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So-soft cleaning and patching
I've got a few so-softs, Hippity Hop, North Star, and Cupcake. I wanted to try my hand at cleaning Hippity Hop first, but, while working her head off to check for rust or anything else that might be lurking, I rubbed off quite a bit of flocking around her neck and ears. I feel terribly guilty about this, but live and learn and all that.

So, first, as I understand, flocking can be patched with a flocking gun or just putting some glue on a pony and sticking flocking on it. I'm not sure what the preferred method is or just what you guys might recommend if you have experience. I've heard that the texture of the original flocking is hard to match, but any particular brands of flocking that you like? Any advice is welcome.

Also, maybe a silly question, but is all G1 flocking the same? I ask because I'm not sure if flocking colors are a factor, or if flocking just appears slightly different in color because of the ponies' different colors or yellowing over time.

Second, preventative measures. I do like to take the heads off of ponies if only to make sure that there's nothing scary lurking beneath. Hippity Hop is practically immaculate inside, thankfully, but I'd still like to check the other two. Do you guys open up your so softs or is that just not recommended? And if so, how do you go about avoiding damage? I've considered that some kind of rubber grip might help reduce friction, if that's the issue. I confess I wasn't wearing gloves while removing Hippity Hop's head when I probably should have, but not sure if just the gloves would be entirely preventative.

More a nervous question than anything, but how do you prefer to clean so-softs? I know you're not supposed to use warm water, but other than that, is it just being gentle with a toothbrush? That's mostly what I've understood.

Again, excuse the state of Hippity Hop. I haven't done anything to her out of fear of causing more damage.

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Hair
Possibly the scariest subject for me personally. I've done the basics, shampoo, conditioner, and combing out Glory's mane and tail, and they both look much, much better. I've removed the tail to work with it, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad or makes no difference, but I'd be interested to know. Mainly I'm wondering if I should continue trying to defrizz the hair. I haven't left conditioner in the mane and tail for an extended period so far, but that may be my next step. I know a lot of people will use conditioner and a flat iron for that, but I don't have an iron at this point, so I was wondering what peoples' experiences are with boil washing. Is it effective at all, is it harmful at all? What's a good next step?

Before:
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Current:
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This post got longer than I originally intended, and I'm sure a lot of these are just noob problems and overthinking, as I tend to do. Once again, if I'm in the wrong place or asking too much at once, let me know. I appreciate your patience and any time you might take in answering my questions. Thanks much in advance.