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Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: poniesthatsparkle on October 22, 2017, 08:16:36 AM

Title: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: poniesthatsparkle on October 22, 2017, 08:16:36 AM
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find one of the ponies I was desperately looking for, but sadly she's not in the best shape. Most of her flocking, especially on her head, is very soft and plush, but on her side's she has some odd stains.

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Where the stains are, the flocking is very hard, as if it's been glued down. My guess is that something spilled on her. I was able to get some of it off, but the rest won't budge. A tiny speck of flocking came off when I was scrubbing her, not enough to be noticed easily, and the plastic underneath is nice and white, so the stain is only on the flocking.

Is there any way to get rid of these stains without having to deflock her? I'd hate to deflock this pony who otherwise has nice flocking where there aren't any stains, especially since I had been searching for her for so long.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on October 22, 2017, 08:24:56 AM
Yeah, that looks like they spilled something on her. I would use cold water (don't use hot as it will loosen the glue of the flocking) with Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush. Just scrub very gently :biggrin:
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Pokeyonekenobie on October 22, 2017, 09:42:47 AM
I second the use of a toothbrush.  I use a baby toothbrush because the bristles are softer so they're a little less likely to scrape the flocking off as you scrub.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on October 22, 2017, 10:22:26 AM
Whatever spilled on her could also have affected the glue under the flocking, which tends to go really yellow/brown anyway... 
Annnnnnnnnd they could be age marks too. 
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Mami Tomoe on October 23, 2017, 02:03:32 PM
you might need to deflock
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Shy Violet on October 23, 2017, 04:23:41 PM
I had good luck using oxyclean with COLD water on my so softs and dish soap. I used my fingers to gently rub. Be careful though, my Paradise (who I deflocked on purpose) the flocking came off super easily. Whatever doesn't come off with cleaning, try sunfading. It takes me months to sun fade here in Canada but I was able to fade my deflocked Paradise and a So Soft Gusty very nicely.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Taxel on October 24, 2017, 10:01:00 AM
After you clean her, try storing her somewhere dark. One of my SS Sundances had horrible discoloration on her face that looks similar. After a few years of sitting at the back of a very dark shelf (no direct light and little indirect light) the stains are almost completely gone. It was so drastic I could only be sure she was the Sundance with yellowed glue because of her hair style.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: poniesthatsparkle on October 25, 2017, 05:07:00 PM
Thanks for the tips, everyone! You rock!

Sadly I tried most of these tips, and none of them helped. As I was trying to get her as clean as possible, her flocking began falling off in large chunks, so I decided it was best to go ahead and deflock her.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: NightGliderSA on October 26, 2017, 01:56:40 AM
So sorry that her flocking was so self destructive! Please post pictures of her once you are done deflocking - she is a beautiful pony flocked or deflocked  :)
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on October 26, 2017, 07:16:27 AM
Aww, that's too bad. But you will have a beautiful pony after she is deflocked! Pictures would be cool as well  :)
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: poniesthatsparkle on November 20, 2017, 04:06:37 PM
I seem to have run into another complication. She's almost completely deadlocked now, but she was a tad bit yellow underneath all of that glue. I left her out to sunfade a while, and when I came back, she had turned an ugly brownish color. It's blotchy on her face and side. I thought it was the glue resides, but there's no glue left on her.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 04:32:26 PM
Sounds like she sunburned.
To my knowledge, sunfading is for ink marks and stuff. I'm pretty sure it does nothing to help with yellowing of white plastic since that's caused by sun exposure in the first place.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on November 20, 2017, 04:47:48 PM
Sounds like she sunburned.
To my knowledge, sunfading is for ink marks and stuff. I'm pretty sure it does nothing to help with yellowing of white plastic since that's caused by sun exposure in the first place.
Actually, sunfading is used to help with whitening a lot. It helps a ton, except with ponies who sunburn, which Paradise did.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 05:20:29 PM
Sounds like she sunburned.
To my knowledge, sunfading is for ink marks and stuff. I'm pretty sure it does nothing to help with yellowing of white plastic since that's caused by sun exposure in the first place.
Actually, sunfading is used to help with whitening a lot. It helps a ton, except with ponies who sunburn, which Paradise did.
Weird that just sunfading helps with whitening when it's sun exposure that causes yellowing. I mean, I know the hydrogen peroxide and sunlight whitening trick works, but just sunlight? Huh. Or am I forgetting things about sunfading?
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on November 20, 2017, 05:22:32 PM
Sounds like she sunburned.
To my knowledge, sunfading is for ink marks and stuff. I'm pretty sure it does nothing to help with yellowing of white plastic since that's caused by sun exposure in the first place.
Actually, sunfading is used to help with whitening a lot. It helps a ton, except with ponies who sunburn, which Paradise did.
Weird that just sunfading helps with whitening when it's sun exposure that causes yellowing. I mean, I know the hydrogen peroxide and sunlight whitening trick works, but just sunlight? Huh. Or am I forgetting things about sunfading?
Sun doesn't cause yellowing for ponies who don't burn. It's just the deterioration of the vinyl :)
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Gator on November 20, 2017, 05:41:50 PM
Not to hijack the thread, but I just got a wonderful Twilight who, sadly, has a muzzle stain and lipstick.  Can lipstick be washed out of flocking?
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on November 20, 2017, 10:55:00 PM
That's really strange, Paradise isn't known to sunburn.  I wonder if she was exposed to some chemical that had a similar effect when combined with UV?

@ Gator - Probably not - the lipstick could be removed, but the pigments that are in it have probably already stained the flocking and/or vinyl. 
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: NightGliderSA on November 21, 2017, 12:06:15 AM
I seem to have run into another complication. She's almost completely deadlocked now, but she was a tad bit yellow underneath all of that glue. I left her out to sunfade a while, and when I came back, she had turned an ugly brownish color. It's blotchy on her face and side. I thought it was the glue resides, but there's no glue left on her.

Oh gosh, no! I am so sorry! That must have been a horrible shock  :(
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 21, 2017, 12:46:02 AM
Regarding Gator's problem.. I seem to recall someone once suggested putting a So-Soft in the washing machine on cold and gentle. But I could be misremembering.

Regarding Paradise's sunburn, has anyone ever tried the sitting in sunlight while immersed in hydrogen peroxide whitening method on a sunburnt pony? I know that it's good for reversing sun-yellowing on other toys.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on November 21, 2017, 07:59:22 AM
Gator, the lipstick has probably stained the viny already :(
It is odd the Paradise burned though. Maybe her vinyl is like Starshine, so some of her burn and some don't?
Regarding Gator's problem.. I seem to recall someone once suggested putting a So-Soft in the washing machine on cold and gentle. But I could be misremembering.

Regarding Paradise's sunburn, has anyone ever tried the sitting in sunlight while immersed in hydrogen peroxide whitening method on a sunburnt pony? I know that it's good for reversing sun-yellowing on other toys.
I wouldn't use the hydrogen peroxide method here. You have to put the immersed pony out in the sun which is what caused it to be burnt in the first place. It would probably make it worse :(
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on November 21, 2017, 12:50:16 PM
The flocking glue could have been "working against" the vinyl for years before you deflocked her, causing much more serious "age marks" than what would normally happen on a pony. 

So-Softs are just so irritating... they were so gorgeous brand-new, but ughhhh the fuzz, the stains, the glue... ARGH.  Collector's nightmare of a gimmick!
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 21, 2017, 02:34:56 PM
But that flocking is so wonderfully soft... I wouldn't dream of deflocking my Wind Whistler and Ribbon
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Gator on November 21, 2017, 04:05:34 PM
Well darn, I was hoping deflocking was an option for my Twilight, but if the vinyl is stained too, I guess she's of no use and I'll just throw her away.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: LadyMoondancer on November 21, 2017, 04:13:45 PM
Hasbro was really dumb in their choice of flocking for them.  Sylvanian Families figures are flocked with very short fuzz, and they look fine after all these years.  So-Soft ponies have long-ish flocking that smushes down if you look at it funny, never to look decent again, and gets permanent stains easily.

I honestly hate this gimmick.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: SeashellnBubbles on November 21, 2017, 04:36:05 PM
Well darn, I was hoping deflocking was an option for my Twilight, but if the vinyl is stained too, I guess she's of no use and I'll just throw her away.

Oh, don't do that! I'd be happy to give her a home! First, though, you might try some whitening toothpaste and a magic eraser. I've had incredibly good luck using a magic eraser gently on flocking....it gets it super clean and even fluffs it to an almost new look! Plus, you don't have to put conditioner on the pony to keep the flocking soft :) Rub in gentle, small circles. It's time consuming, but worth it.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on November 21, 2017, 04:51:54 PM
Most So-Softs don't have major issues with glue-induced discolouration.  We don't even know for a fact that this is the case here with Paradise.  I hope you seriously won't throw away a vintage toy because of the *possibility* it could be discoloured under the flocking. o_o;  Especially Twilight, who isn't common and also isn't known for having vinyl issues.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 21, 2017, 06:24:57 PM
Yes, please for the love of all that is good don't chuck her in the trash! If you're so sure you don't want her anymore, donate her to a thrift store or sell her off! Entirely too many ponies have gone to the dump.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Safflower on November 21, 2017, 06:28:48 PM
Please don't actually throw her out! You can still try to fix her!
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Gator on November 21, 2017, 06:44:25 PM
I'm definitely going to try first.  No worries. 
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Breyer600 on November 21, 2017, 07:12:04 PM
Well darn, I was hoping deflocking was an option for my Twilight, but if the vinyl is stained too, I guess she's of no use and I'll just throw her away.

While there is certainly a chance that the plastic is stained, it's also possible that it's not.  I've deflocked two different Magic Stars with stained flocking that were completely fine underneath. 

The first had marker over one symbol and around her eye - no traces of it under the flocking:
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The second had nail polish or lipstick all over her hooves and face - again no trace under the flocking:
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So give it a shot, she may turn out better than you expect.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: SeashellnBubbles on November 21, 2017, 07:23:46 PM
Others have used the oxygen carpet cleaner and had luck, and still others have tried tying their pony into a pillowcase before putting it in the washing machine on cool-warm water and a gentle cycle. DON'T PUT HER IN THE DRYER!! LOL.
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Leave a Whisper on November 24, 2017, 08:59:09 PM
Well darn, I was hoping deflocking was an option for my Twilight, but if the vinyl is stained too, I guess she's of no use and I'll just throw her away.

Don't do that! She's such an uncommon, expensive and HSA pony. I'm sure there's plenty of people who'd gladly give her a home. :(
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: poniesthatsparkle on November 30, 2017, 08:52:42 AM
I'm desperate to fix poor Paradise up. Since she was apparently burned, I know I can't put her back out in the sun. Is there anything I could try to whiten her up again, or is sue too far gone?
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: Mami Tomoe on November 30, 2017, 09:02:21 AM
Well darn, I was hoping deflocking was an option for my Twilight, but if the vinyl is stained too, I guess she's of no use and I'll just throw her away.
I can take her if she's just going to be trashed
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 30, 2017, 09:40:22 AM
What paints work on pony plastic?
Title: Re: So Soft Restoring - Mystery Stains
Post by: SeashellnBubbles on November 30, 2017, 02:33:44 PM
You can try the peroxide and sun method. The sun won't further burn her because the UV rays won't be able to act on the plastic. Putting the peroxide in the sun simply increases the change of the peroxide to water and oxygen (that's why it's sold in a dark bottle and not a clear one) The whitening action is due to oxygenation, not bleaching (which is what putting her directly in the sun does). It isn't the UV acting upon the plastic, but the sun acting upon the peroxide that works.  It acts pretty quickly, so do it on a sunny day when you're home all day so you can go out and check her often.

EDIT - The peroxide turns into water and WILL intensify the rays of the sun if left out, plus the extra oxygen created will have dispersed, so the oxygenating action will be exactly the same as regular tap water...so pretty much nothing. The conversion of peroxide into water and oxygen will only take a few hours.
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