Raincurl is a mess! (UPDATE in comments!)

[Emerald]

I picked this girl up at a flea market today for $.50. She has a lot of issues going on but I hope she can be saved. I just started collecting again since my mom got rid of my ponies when I was 10 years old. I have no idea where to even begin. I will try to get better photos tomorrow.

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This is her ~good side.~ 

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This stuff on her face almost looks like cola? I'm worried that there may be a stain, but I haven't tried anything to get it off yet. The eye has been colored over with ball point pen.

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This spot is one of the worst ones that I suspect may be mold. It looks kind of crusty in a weird way in the center...maybe? I will get a better shot of this tomorrow.

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There is crayon or something all over this side.

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More suspected mold spots on the underside. I'll get better shots of this tomorrow.

I'm going to read more in this forum about restoration and hopefully I will be able to post in-process pics and GLORIOUS AFTER SHOTS when I save her. Right? Positivity? I'm worried I won't be able to fix her but I'm going to try!

[hathorcat]

The dark spots look like age marks unfortunately but acetone may be able to calm them down in colour...if not remove them altogether. I would try a similar option on the brown mark on her face

She looks like a fun restore candidate! I am sure you will have her beautiful again soon

[Emerald]

I've heard a lot about using acetone and nail polish remover, but it scares me since I used to work on other toys and acetone/nail polish removers would eat away at the plastics over time. I assume that's not an issue with these ponies because they're kind of vinyl and not really plastic? I'm so paranoid about this $.50 pony. lol

[ghouldilocks]

I still can't get over how nice her mane and tail look, compared to my Raincurl! 

I would be so scared to get her curls wet while giving the body and head a good scrub 

[BlushingBlue]

Well, on the plus side, her mane stripe is still nicely pink? I bet she'll look miles better after a good cleaning.

All the marks look removable to me, except that weird dark brown spot... If it's noticeably rough-textured, that doesn't sound like any age/mold spot I've come across before. Could it be a burn? A certain sibling that shall remain nameless once enjoyed heating up pins and paperclips with a lighter and poking them into things. I hope something similar didn't happen to poor Raincurl.

Acetone and ethyl acetate are safe to use on pony vinyl in small amounts. Swiping over an area with acetone-soaked cotton to remove surface gunk would be fine. Putting a pony into an acetone dunk-tank or something would not be advisable, but I don't see why anyone would do that anyway. The only thing to worry about with acetone is touching the eye/symbol paint because it will dissolve that very quickly. Since Raincurl has a lot of marks near her paint, you might want to use isopropyl alcohol as your first solvent of choice and/or go very carefully with the acetone on a cotton swab around her delicate areas. Of course, if you're lucky, you won't need solvents at all.

I'm looking forward to the GLORIOUS AFTER SHOTS!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Wow it doesn't look like she needs much help to restore her mostly original curl!    And most of those marks should come off anyway.  The age spots are just a part of being a G1 but she's lovely! 

[NigheanRuadh]

You might be surprised what comes off with just a good scrubbing.   

[Juliepants]

She's beautiful! What a great find!

Jules x

[Emerald]

I just cleaned her up. It took maybe 30 seconds. The really dark spot is still there but not nearly as dark as it was before scrubbing it a bit with a soft toothbrush and some dawn. Her curls got a little damp and now I'm paranoid about it. I'll be looking into how to fix up the hair tomorrow and I will have new photos of her then, too.

[Sweet_Stuff]

You could also try Mr. Clean Magic Easer.. it removes most marks and lightens up ink pen marks pretty well. (There's also a sun bathing " lighting" treatment you could do but I have personally never tried it before for the ink. Ditto on the other comments  looking forward to seeing the after pics!

[hathorcat]

You might be surprised what comes off with just a good scrubbing.   

This ^ Such a true statment. Sometimes the simplest option and some elbow grease solve more problems than we could imagine.

[NigheanRuadh]

You might be surprised what comes off with just a good scrubbing.   

This ^ Such a true statment. Sometimes the simplest option and some elbow grease solve more problems than we could imagine.

Thanks, Cat.    It's just something that I found for myself.  I had a couple Ponies with pen marks on them that I was surprised to see fading just while I scrubbed them.  I was expecting to have to do some sunfading or something, and it wasn't required at all. 

[Taffeta]

I just cleaned her up. It took maybe 30 seconds. The really dark spot is still there but not nearly as dark as it was before scrubbing it a bit with a soft toothbrush and some dawn. Her curls got a little damp and now I'm paranoid about it. I'll be looking into how to fix up the hair tomorrow and I will have new photos of her then, too.

Curly hair usually survives being wet so long as you don't try and comb it or otherwise mess with the styling while it's still wet. With the ringlets on these girls, you really wouldn't try to brush or comb them too much so they'll probably be okay. I did a lot of things to my Rainbow Magic as a kid, but she still has curly hair more or less in ringlets, and so I think that, unless you brush them out or cut them, probably they'll be all right. Just let them dry.

[Emerald]

UPDATE! Here she is now! Sorry for the bad pics, it's raining outside.

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[NigheanRuadh]

Beautiful!!