♡ g3 restoration questions !

[sentimental]

Hey there! so sorry if this is the wrong forum to post in, I couldn't for the life of me find a restoration sub-section.

My birthday recently passed, and in wake of getting older I wanted to revisit my childhood collection of g3s and start cleaning them
up as a fun hobby project before I start on my new g1's.
I've been checking as many resource sites and youtube videos as I can, but almost all of them are on g1 ponies, and often mention warnings
about potential differences between generations when restoring and to take heed.

So, in wake of my paranoia around accidentally destroying my childhood toys, I felt it would be wise to ask the pony experts around here what I should
look out for when repairing and restoring g3s!

I put together a restoration kit using the many video guides and restoration techniques provided on mlppreservationproject, so I have most if not all widely
know materials and just want to make sure I don't use the wrong product on the wrong plastic and destroy my girls!

Thank you so much in advance and I'm so sorry if I missed this same topic somewhere else! I'll probably have some more specific questions later but I just need general warnings for now !

[Leave a Whisper]

  that is a good site and there are lots of friendly folk here who can offer lots of useful info if you have questions and need clarification.

[Featherwurm]

The nice thing about MLP toys is that they're designed for quite young children and are therefore made pretty robustly!  G3s may be getting close to 20 years old in some cases, but apart from a few exceptions if you didn't treat them too roughly in childhood you shouldn't run across anything too bizarre when cleaning them up.  And with that, you don't really run a lot of risk of messing them up.

That being said, the risks you might run into when restoring depend a lot on the work you're doing!  As someone who's had ponies since the 80s and has seen her collection age from her childhood to her adulthood (and cleaned them up accordingly) - Just cleaning with soap and hot water and conditioner carries very very littler risk of doing any damage.  Depending on how you heat your water will determine your mileage for risk of melting your pony, but their melting point is pretty high (definitely above 250 F/120 C), and hot tap water or boiling water won't do them harm.  Nail Polish Remover/Acetone used with discretion to clean up stray marks of paint or sticky stuff is also quite safe as long as you don't get it on any painted parts of the pony.

Personally I've had great luck with sunfading, but I know some people express concerns of that (worried about long-term possible breakdown in the vinyl).  So I'll leave that one to 'I personally consider peroxide sunfading safe (but if selling would let buyers be aware of this).'

Beyond that... well, I'm not sure what you're working with exactly, but MLP Preservation project has never steered me wrong, personally, and it's a great resource!

[BubbleTea]

I don't know about sunfading on g3s. They tend to get discolored in the sun.

Happy Birthday btw! 

[Featherwurm]

I don't know about sunfading on g3s. They tend to get discolored in the sun.

Happy Birthday btw! 

It does ABSOLUTELY depend on color, you're right!

[sentimental]

  that is a good site and there are lots of friendly folk here who can offer lots of useful info if you have questions and need clarification.

thank you !! everyone's been lovely so far ♡♡

The nice thing about MLP toys is that they're designed for quite young children and are therefore made pretty robustly!  G3s may be getting close to 20 years old in some cases, but apart from a few exceptions if you didn't treat them too roughly in childhood you shouldn't run across anything too bizarre when cleaning them up.  And with that, you don't really run a lot of risk of messing them up.

That being said, the risks you might run into when restoring depend a lot on the work you're doing!  As someone who's had ponies since the 80s and has seen her collection age from her childhood to her adulthood (and cleaned them up accordingly) - Just cleaning with soap and hot water and conditioner carries very very littler risk of doing any damage.  Depending on how you heat your water will determine your mileage for risk of melting your pony, but their melting point is pretty high (definitely above 250 F/120 C), and hot tap water or boiling water won't do them harm.  Nail Polish Remover/Acetone used with discretion to clean up stray marks of paint or sticky stuff is also quite safe as long as you don't get it on any painted parts of the pony.

Personally I've had great luck with sunfading, but I know some people express concerns of that (worried about long-term possible breakdown in the vinyl).  So I'll leave that one to 'I personally consider peroxide sunfading safe (but if selling would let buyers be aware of this).'

Beyond that... well, I'm not sure what you're working with exactly, but MLP Preservation project has never steered me wrong, personally, and it's a great resource!

thank you so much for your detailed reply!! i'll just follow the guides on the preservation project then and update this thread if I need any other help! 

I don't know about sunfading on g3s. They tend to get discolored in the sun.

Happy Birthday btw! 

thank you !! and oo good note- I'll try my best to avoid sunfading since most of my ponies are unmarred.
Is it safe to sunfade white ponies? They're my only girls that have experienced some serious discoloration! (Yellowing from age I presume!)

[MintyMyndi]

Most white G3s seem to yellow in the sun, but that is usually fixed with the presence of peroxide. Peroxide does affect hair texture, so I have a method that I'd use (but haven't yet, so take it with a grain of salt).

First, cover the hair and painted areas. Thin layers of cheap acrylic paint can be removed with rubbing alcohol, but I'd be careful on glitter. Iridescent glitter seems to be attached pretty well, but I don't have any ponies like Fairy Dust who have portions of their symbol made of glitter to see how well it is attached.
Hair can be covered with aluminum foil mostly, using painter's tape on the roots. Position it sticking straight out so you don't cover portions of pony.
As for peroxide, there are ways to make a hydrogen peroxide gel to avoid submerging. I found it on a page about whitening appliances, but can't remember where. I think that's basically what hair bleaching cream is, though, so I'd just use that. Reapply as needed until you've achieved your desired shade of not-yellow. Wash the pony afterward, to be safe.
If she's going directly outside, I'd put her in a freezer bag to protect her from rain, wildlife, etc. A silica gel packet or two would make good roommates for her while she's in there. If she's got a magnet, on top of a car would be a good place to put her. If not, pop off her head and fill her legs with sand, dry rice, etc. to keep her from tipping over.

If you do need to get inside any of them, use a hoof magnet to check their butts for metal tail washers. Ponies with plastic washers tend to have absurd amounts of glue, so it would be useful to know of in advance. The only one I've opened was a Triple Treat II with a buzzcut, whom I rerooted with yarn and tinsel (I should get some pictures of her, she's really pretty) and an X-Acto knife was necessary. Even then, it was no easy feat! But from the sounds of things, you'll be spared of such a fate.

I wish good luck to you in your restoration endeavors!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

The biggest takeaway is absolutely no acne cream under any circumstances.
If you have any particular issues popping up, we may be able to help more specifically.

[BlushingBlue]

Happy belated birthday! You've already gotten some good advice, and you're sure to get more as you need it -- we're a pretty knowledgeable bunch and love to pitch in with advice.

By and large, G1 and G3 are very similar when it comes to materials and construction, and most restoration procedures will work for both gens. There are a few points of difference that I would like to specifically expand on:

1) Glue! Many G3s, especially in the earlier years, have gobs of hard glue inside to anchor their hair and seal their necks. You probably won't need to open up many of your ponies, but be prepared for a fight if you do. I highly recommend using a steel cuticle pusher or another strong, but fairly blunt, tool to help you pry the head loose. Carefully precise use of an exacto knife, or acetone-soaked floss as a garrote, may be needed for really tough jobs. I don't recommend using heat to try to soften things up for the initial decapitation, as the vinyl may give way before the glue does, but feel free to warm her up when putting her back together. Later-run G3s don't have their heads glued down, so they should be much easier to deal with, although they can still have silly amounts of glue in their hair.

2) Tinsel! Lots of G3s have clear, iridescent tinsel in their hair, and this material behaves differently than the typical metallic G1 tinsel (although both gens do use both types). Metallic tinsel is made of polyester+aluminum, both of which have nicely high melting points and can withstand typical pony de-frizzing methods, but G3 tinsel is polyester+polyethylene. If you've ever gotten a plastic shopping bag too close to the burner on your stove, you've seen what happens to polyethylene film when it's exposed to too much heat. High-heat techniques will make G3 tinsel crazier instead of straightening it, so stick to using low heat (<150F if your hair tool goes that low) and/or use a lot of buffer (water, dimethicone) between the tinsel and the heat source. You might still get some flyaways, but G3s can be relieved of 10-25% of their tinsel without losing any significant sparkle.

3) Discoloration Unfortunately, G3 vinyl isn't as stable as G1. I don't think you'll be doing much sunfading now that the lovely Washington autumn is upon us, but something to keep in mind is that G3s are more sensitive when it comes to UV light, for both good and ill. Not saying you shouldn't try to sunfade your ponies once the sun comes back, but do be careful and check on them daily. Try not to let them get hot or keep them in an enclosed space (no car dashboards) or they may wind up sticky/slimy from accelerated plasticizer leakage. Part of the calculus you have to do with G3s is that they usually aren't "done" degrading -- they haven't yet reached an equilibrium where they're as bad as they're going to get -- so any resto work you do now, you may have to repeat in the future as the plastic continues to age and change. Just something to be aware of.

If you have any other questions, don't feel shy about asking right here in the main forum.

[sentimental]

Most white G3s seem to yellow in the sun, but that is usually fixed with the presence of peroxide. Peroxide does affect hair texture, so I have a method that I'd use (but haven't yet, so take it with a grain of salt).

First, cover the hair and painted areas. Thin layers of cheap acrylic paint can be removed with rubbing alcohol, but I'd be careful on glitter. Iridescent glitter seems to be attached pretty well, but I don't have any ponies like Fairy Dust who have portions of their symbol made of glitter to see how well it is attached.
Hair can be covered with aluminum foil mostly, using painter's tape on the roots. Position it sticking straight out so you don't cover portions of pony.
As for peroxide, there are ways to make a hydrogen peroxide gel to avoid submerging. I found it on a page about whitening appliances, but can't remember where. I think that's basically what hair bleaching cream is, though, so I'd just use that. Reapply as needed until you've achieved your desired shade of not-yellow. Wash the pony afterward, to be safe.
If she's going directly outside, I'd put her in a freezer bag to protect her from rain, wildlife, etc. A silica gel packet or two would make good roommates for her while she's in there. If she's got a magnet, on top of a car would be a good place to put her. If not, pop off her head and fill her legs with sand, dry rice, etc. to keep her from tipping over.

If you do need to get inside any of them, use a hoof magnet to check their butts for metal tail washers. Ponies with plastic washers tend to have absurd amounts of glue, so it would be useful to know of in advance. The only one I've opened was a Triple Treat II with a buzzcut, whom I rerooted with yarn and tinsel (I should get some pictures of her, she's really pretty) and an X-Acto knife was necessary. Even then, it was no easy feat! But from the sounds of things, you'll be spared of such a fate.

I wish good luck to you in your restoration endeavors!

thank you so much for such a detailed answer! i've noticed just from buying g3s at yard sales that the sun damage can get really bad really fast for them (thinking about a Cotton Candy I'd seen who had half of her body seared orange from being someone's backyard toy!)- so I'll be taking plenty heed! I luckily have plenty of hair developer so I'll try and test your technique on one of my many yellowed Sparkle Swirl dupes!! and i'd love to see pics of that Triple Treat- she's such a great choice of pony to restore!! ♡♡

The biggest takeaway is absolutely no acne cream under any circumstances.
If you have any particular issues popping up, we may be able to help more specifically.

absolutely!! i'll be very careful. i've seen tutorials mention using the baking soda/whitening toothpaste, but i'd assume there are similar ingredients to acne creams.
should i avoid these too? ♡ thank you for the warning!

Happy belated birthday! You've already gotten some good advice, and you're sure to get more as you need it -- we're a pretty knowledgeable bunch and love to pitch in with advice.

By and large, G1 and G3 are very similar when it comes to materials and construction, and most restoration procedures will work for both gens. There are a few points of difference that I would like to specifically expand on:

1) Glue! Many G3s, especially in the earlier years, have gobs of hard glue inside to anchor their hair and seal their necks. You probably won't need to open up many of your ponies, but be prepared for a fight if you do. I highly recommend using a steel cuticle pusher or another strong, but fairly blunt, tool to help you pry the head loose. Carefully precise use of an exacto knife, or acetone-soaked floss as a garrote, may be needed for really tough jobs. I don't recommend using heat to try to soften things up for the initial decapitation, as the vinyl may give way before the glue does, but feel free to warm her up when putting her back together. Later-run G3s don't have their heads glued down, so they should be much easier to deal with, although they can still have silly amounts of glue in their hair.

2) Tinsel! Lots of G3s have clear, iridescent tinsel in their hair, and this material behaves differently than the typical metallic G1 tinsel (although both gens do use both types). Metallic tinsel is made of polyester+aluminum, both of which have nicely high melting points and can withstand typical pony de-frizzing methods, but G3 tinsel is polyester+polyethylene. If you've ever gotten a plastic shopping bag too close to the burner on your stove, you've seen what happens to polyethylene film when it's exposed to too much heat. High-heat techniques will make G3 tinsel crazier instead of straightening it, so stick to using low heat (<150F if your hair tool goes that low) and/or use a lot of buffer (water, dimethicone) between the tinsel and the heat source. You might still get some flyaways, but G3s can be relieved of 10-25% of their tinsel without losing any significant sparkle.

3) Discoloration Unfortunately, G3 vinyl isn't as stable as G1. I don't think you'll be doing much sunfading now that the lovely Washington autumn is upon us, but something to keep in mind is that G3s are more sensitive when it comes to UV light, for both good and ill. Not saying you shouldn't try to sunfade your ponies once the sun comes back, but do be careful and check on them daily. Try not to let them get hot or keep them in an enclosed space (no car dashboards) or they may wind up sticky/slimy from accelerated plasticizer leakage. Part of the calculus you have to do with G3s is that they usually aren't "done" degrading -- they haven't yet reached an equilibrium where they're as bad as they're going to get -- so any resto work you do now, you may have to repeat in the future as the plastic continues to age and change. Just something to be aware of.

If you have any other questions, don't feel shy about asking right here in the main forum.

Thank you so much for the incredible response!! I'll be sure to look out for those issues- hopefully the heads won't have to roll (lol!). Thank you so much for the tinsel tip- I was going to attempt the conditioner-straightening technique on some girls to help with frizz tonight so I'm glad you caught me before my blunder!! I'll try to find a low heat iron somewhere or research other potential de-frizzing techniques. Our lovely PNW autumn really has taken off already- no sun-spa trips for a while for my girls! And very good point about the degredation being incomplete- I guess I can just consider my girls a long-term project !!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Acne cream contains Benzoyl Peroxide which should be avoided at all costs.
Baking soda is a very useful tool, although I've not found much application for it myself.
Hydrogen peroxide is generally regarded as safe but we may not know of any adverse effects until later on.

[MintyMyndi]

On the subject of hair, if you need to de-frizz, you absolutely NEED a Conair 1/4 inch curling iron as seen in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUL3JfdseZY
It's made of magical texture-restoration sparkles and witchcraft juice. I used to use a flat iron, but now it's obvious that it was wildly insufficient. Seriously, you'll never go back. The heat setting 10, as suggested in the provided video, has yet to fail me.

The reason I bring this up is to say that you absolutely CAN straighten iridescent tinsel if you need to. Your mileage may vary with that, though, so proceed at your own risk. I had a Misty Blue who was definitely an outside toy- she was so dirty when I found her, she left black marks on my hands! I live in the south, so it gets pretty hot outside, which was probably a contributing factor to just how awful her hair texture got. I flat ironed it so many times, finally concluding that the texture would never again resemble hair. When I got the aforementioned magic wand, I shrugged my shoulders and attacked her with it, tinsel and all. She's gorgeous now! Despite the warning given in the video, her tinsel actually improved greatly. Again, you should proceed at your own risk, but this definitely needed sharing.

As for what I do, I use the method described in the video. The shampoo I use is Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. My lotion (Suave) isn't unscented, but it has similar ingredients to the one he uses. I use whatever conditioner I'm in the mood for smelling (which is frequently White Rain apple blossom) and just go at it. Despite having access to many of the Barbie brushes he uses, I use a fakie rose brush, which is basically a G1 flower brush with a rose instead of the flower; came with Simba baby ballerina ponies at least (mine's thrifted, so i is an enigma). The teeth are closer together. If your pony has massively tangled hair, such as on a Super Long Hair pony, I recommend a basic G3.5 brush (not Sweetie Belle's) as it's very efficient at removing tangles and gentle on the hair. Misty Blue isn't my only success story, just my proudest. I absolutely recommend this!

[LadyAmalthea]

On the subject of hair, if you need to de-frizz, you absolutely NEED a Conair 1/4 inch curling iron as seen in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUL3JfdseZY
It's made of magical texture-restoration sparkles and witchcraft juice. I used to use a flat iron, but now it's obvious that it was wildly insufficient. Seriously, you'll never go back. The heat setting 10, as suggested in the provided video, has yet to fail me.

The reason I bring this up is to say that you absolutely CAN straighten iridescent tinsel if you need to. Your mileage may vary with that, though, so proceed at your own risk. I had a Misty Blue who was definitely an outside toy- she was so dirty when I found her, she left black marks on my hands! I live in the south, so it gets pretty hot outside, which was probably a contributing factor to just how awful her hair texture got. I flat ironed it so many times, finally concluding that the texture would never again resemble hair. When I got the aforementioned magic wand, I shrugged my shoulders and attacked her with it, tinsel and all. She's gorgeous now! Despite the warning given in the video, her tinsel actually improved greatly. Again, you should proceed at your own risk, but this definitely needed sharing.

As for what I do, I use the method described in the video. The shampoo I use is Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. My lotion (Suave) isn't unscented, but it has similar ingredients to the one he uses. I use whatever conditioner I'm in the mood for smelling (which is frequently White Rain apple blossom) and just go at it. Despite having access to many of the Barbie brushes he uses, I use a fakie rose brush, which is basically a G1 flower brush with a rose instead of the flower; came with Simba baby ballerina ponies at least (mine's thrifted, so i is an enigma). The teeth are closer together. If your pony has massively tangled hair, such as on a Super Long Hair pony, I recommend a basic G3.5 brush (not Sweetie Belle's) as it's very efficient at removing tangles and gentle on the hair. Misty Blue isn't my only success story, just my proudest. I absolutely recommend this!

I second this curling iron...I bought the same one at a secondhand store for $2! It has yet to fail me. I use the same Johnson's baby shampoo and White Rain conditioner too...just what I had laying around for my kids, but they make my ponies smell great. I've never tried using lotion as a heat protectant when using the curling iron, only the conditioner, but I'll try it!

Post Merge: October 17, 2020, 08:53:40 AM

As far as a comb goes, I use a fine-toothed metal comb that is actually sold for grooming dogs, also bought at the thrift shop for 75 cents. Best money I ever spent! Since it stands up to the heat of the curling iron, I actually pull the hair through with the curling iron butted up right behind it to ensure the strands are all separated as straight as possible before the heat hits them for optimal smoothing.

[sentimental]

thank you both so much!
i went out to find the aforementioned curler and could only find the same make in 1" instead of 1/4 inch.... think it should still work out?
got some unscented lotion to test the process on a bait pony with tinsel and then a bait without. will report back with results as soon as i can!!

[LadyAmalthea]

thank you both so much!
i went out to find the aforementioned curler and could only find the same make in 1" instead of 1/4 inch.... think it should still work out?
got some unscented lotion to test the process on a bait pony with tinsel and then a bait without. will report back with results as soon as i can!!

Yes, it will work. Mine is bigger than 1/4", not sure if it's 1" or 1/2", I'll have to look at it again to know for sure, but the one in that tutorial looks to be the same size as mine.

I did try the lotion and it did not work as well for me as the conditioner. The hair didn't seem to slip through the curling iron barrel as well, and the results weren't as smooth. But that might have been because I used Lubriderm, which was the only unscented lotion I had laying around. Maybe something with a waxier content would work better.  I then just globbed some of the conditioner on on top of the lotion and it worked fine. (Also I only tried it on a g1 pony; maybe hair on G3s is different?)