Do you /DARE/ restore a RARE pony?

[josiekat]

Honestly, it's your pony to do what you want with. Rare or not. If somewhere down the road you decide to sell them, just be honest about what you did to her or him. There will still be someone out there who would buy them even with work done if they are that rare. Ponies are about enjoyment. Do what is going to make you enjoy them the most.

[Shorelines]

i was ironing a spainnish piggy hair once.

[Whippycorn]

Yeah, Snuzzle's fringe has never really bothered me enough to fix it.  She's still cute enough.

Regarding removing heads. I personally don't really care about factory seals. But I wouldn't really do it if I planned to sell the pony on (leave that choice to the new owner). 

But if I did take it off (if it was loose-ish already or the pony had appalling rust issues) I'd never re-glue it afterwards. Leaving it loose will make further maintenance easier and glue might go yellow or damage the pony.

[Sunshine]

Hell Yeah, I'd restore her!

The before photos of this German Skydancer are sort of crappy.  At the time, the digital camera was top of the line, but over the years technology has moved on. I got this pony when Skydancer was still selling for about $200-$300 because she was a super rare German variant. She was purchased with the intent of restoring and selling.  However, after all the work I put into her, I just can't part with her! She now lives in my collection and is the best example of my skill as a restoration artist. Please note, the hair was done by StrawberryFair as I didn't rehair at the time.  Now I do rehair The rest was all me!

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This is a fantastic restore - much needed as well... You did a fantastic job!!

Wow, that's a great restore on Skydancer! 

For Enolaalone, a (rather terrible) picture of my Snuzzle.
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Would you give her a new fringe, [you]?

Definitely not... I have many ponies with a buzzed or short forelock... that' doesn't bother me. I was thinking full buzz cut and missing tail for a rehair (and of course, replacing a tail in my mind is much less of a thing than replacing a mane... )

Can I clean tail rust from the outside then? I know the washer is rusty to create tail rust, aesthetically, could I fix it from the outside alone and warn of potential returning tail rust? Or just bite the darn bullet and rip her head off, take out the rusty washer and replace it with a new one?

[Majesty]

I'm not very good at restoring.  If the pony is dirty, I am good at making it clean by giving it a good washing and using mr. clean magic eraser if needed.  I don't know how to reroot main/tail but if let's say I found a rare pony that needed a good washing I could do that.  I know you guys are talking about serious restoration but I could probably find  someone to do it for me.   

[Sunshine]

I'm not very good at restoring.  If the pony is dirty, I am good at making it clean by giving it a good washing and using mr. clean magic eraser if needed.  I don't know how to reroot main/tail but if let's say I found a rare pony that needed a good washing I could do that.  I know you guys are talking about serious restoration but I could probably find  someone to do it for me.   

I believe that's true too - people are willing to do rehairs for you, etc... I've seen some glorious ones!

I think that it's absolutely the best thing to do to just, do what you know on a rare pony, and leave it at that. I personally also do not know how to rehair (about to start trying though, on baits of course), so I would never attempt to try that on a rare pony unless I truly felt super qualified to make her wonderful again. 

[Clarabel Sapphire]

A couple of years ago, I won an auction for the German Baby Honeycomb and probably paid more than I should have due to the condition.  Her mane and tail were both trimmed, horribly dry and frizzy and had the dreaded tail rust.  Eyes and symbols were also slightly rubbed.

As I knew I would be keeping her, I decided to replace the hair.  I really didn't like the fact her original hair did not match that of her mother's, so changed it using DollyHair's 'Electric Banana'.  This is probably a big 'no-no' in collecting terms, but I think she looks so much better and looks great alongside her Mum now
 
I have left her eyes and symbols alone though 

[Whippycorn]

Can I clean tail rust from the outside then? I know the washer is rusty to create tail rust, aesthetically, could I fix it from the outside alone and warn of potential returning tail rust? Or just bite the darn bullet and rip her head off, take out the rusty washer and replace it with a new one?

Personally, if I had a Sweet Scoops with tail rust so bad it was staining her tail, I would carefully remove her head and clean it. The tail rust and possible discolouration of her body due to mucky insides would devalue her more than having a broken neck seal IMO. Plus, she'd be much happier too. 


Clarabel, I think that's fine but I think I'd have done the opposite because I prefer baby Honeycomb's hair colour- it looks more honey-like! 

[hathorcat]

@Whippycorn - I wouldnt fix her forelock to be honest - she is so pricey a pony that and if thats her only issue its devaluing her but not as much as it would devalue a much more common pony.

@SunshinePony - No you cant fix tail rust from the outside. Or you can fix what you can see but it is still going to be on the root of the tail that you cant see. So if you are going to do it then you will need to remove her head in order that you can clean both the tail and the washer/grip.
I agree with FantasticFirefly - if you are going to do it dont use a knife as it is far too easy to cut the plastic or cut the actual neck plug. Dental floss with acetone or even a very very thin needle point in order to loosen the glue in one tiny point and drip acetone into the neck seam if you absolutely have to. But I have found most of the time very warm water and wrapping a super hot cloth [I use one of those microwaveable covers] around a pony's neck normally melts the glue enough that it loosens so that you can delicately twist the head off. Don't pull too hard as it could cause the plastic to rip.
Its up to you if you wish to glue the head back on - some people do and some people prefer not to [often it helps when re selling to remember to tell someone the pony has had some kind of restoration work]. Personally I do but I use model glue rather than traditional super glues. Its designed for toy plastics and is better at holding its colour over time as its designed to be used in areas which could be visible on a collectors item.

[Sunshine]

@Whippycorn - I wouldnt fix her forelock to be honest - she is so pricey a pony that and if thats her only issue its devaluing her but not as much as it would devalue a much more common pony.

@SunshinePony - No you cant fix tail rust from the outside. Or you can fix what you can see but it is still going to be on the root of the tail that you cant see. So if you are going to do it then you will need to remove her head in order that you can clean both the tail and the washer/grip.
I agree with FantasticFirefly - if you are going to do it dont use a knife as it is far too easy to cut the plastic or cut the actual neck plug. Dental floss with acetone or even a very very thin needle point in order to loosen the glue in one tiny point and drip acetone into the neck seam if you absolutely have to. But I have found most of the time very warm water and wrapping a super hot cloth [I use one of those microwaveable covers] around a pony's neck normally melts the glue enough that it loosens so that you can delicately twist the head off. Don't pull too hard as it could cause the plastic to rip.
Its up to you if you wish to glue the head back on - some people do and some people prefer not to [often it helps when re selling to remember to tell someone the pony has had some kind of restoration work]. Personally I do but I use model glue rather than traditional super glues. Its designed for toy plastics and is better at holding its colour over time as its designed to be used in areas which could be visible on a collectors item.

Good advice! I'll have to try those methods... never thought about that - so far I've been successful at using the Xacto knife to cut the seal but it takes me a LONG time and I do less cutting and more 'poking' with it than anything, so a needle might be what I need!!

What about Sunfading a rare pony- like a dark bodied pony, such as - Mommy Pony, Dutch Diary pony, etc... someone who's going to cost a decent amount, and has a dark body. Can it be done? Can it only remove things "on" the pony like ink? Can it lighten cancer? Should it even be attempted?

[FantasticFirefly]

Thank you for the glue advice Hathorcat! is there a specific brand you would recommend? I have a few that'll be beautiful with new hair but I haven't gotten around to it as the rerooting method I found that'll work well needs some glue to secure the hair in place.

SunshinePony,
If you can babysit them, I see no problem with sunfading a rare. I'd take a before picture in natural light be checking on it regularly and comparing to the photo for any fading though! or even covering the whole pony except for the bottom of a hoof to test and see if sunlight affects the bodycolour negatively in any way. I just would never-ever use a product like remove-zit on such ponies, or any ponies as that is just much too risky, plus people stay away from ponies treated with that product like the plague.

-Sunfading does nothing for various age spots, regrind.

[hathorcat]

Testors Krystal Klear or Micro Crystal Clear - I like the first one best. I would note that its no where near as strong as regular super glue but its still strong enough to hold a pony head or hair in place. They are both designed to be used on models where you are gluing something to a clear part - so they are designed to be a little more sensitive and not melt the plastic around them [as superglue is want to do] and also dry and stay clear in colour.