How do you do it?

[Desert Rose]

So I'm finally able to unpack and display all my G1 ponies. However, while doing so I notice alot of them have gotten abit of surface dirt which needs to be scrubbed of. This even though I've had them in ziplock bags - allthough they have never been completely sealed.

I've only cleaned about 50 and I'm already sick of it O.O First of all it's depressing to see so many of my ponies being all dirty after a decade of storage. Second of all it's so boring scrubbing ponies.
I just do a gentle surface cleaning, allthough they'd probably turn out better with a proper bath.


I don't understand how you guys do it? How all you guys who restore ponies and make them all nice and shiny, how you put up with it? I feel horrible for saying this as I love my ponies but this is just really tedious for me. Honestly it's turning me off the G1's quite abit And that's really bad because they're my favorite generation! :/

[scarletjul]

Wow, 50 is a lot!

I may be the wrong person to answer, as I'm usually not caught up in pony cleaning but - I don't do it all at once.  I set myself a goal of how many I plan to clean in a day and once I reach it, I'm done for that day.  Ponies will still be there to clean tomorrow or next weekend. 

[Griffin]

I'm with scarletjul, I would get bored, too, trying to clean all those ponies at once! Usually I do all the cleaning and other minor restoration work right away when the pony arrives; that way I'm still excited about the pony and the cleaning job and won't lose my motivation. (Rehairing and stuff like that is a different thing... I have bald ponies in my collection just because I never seem to have the time or motivation to rehair them. )

Now that you already have the ponies, I second the suggestion of doing a few per day so the task doesn't seem too tedious. Start with the dirtiest ones, those that you can't bear to look without cleaning them first.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Hmmm.... I love to restore and clean ponies!  I love seeing how they can completely change from being a dirty toy into a display item.    Even when they're only dusty and need a wipe-down, I will re-style their hair or the display they're in to make them seem new again. 

I definitely wouldn't tackle 50 at a time though.  Most of the time I work with 3-5 at a time.

[Desert Rose]

Oh don't get me wrong, I haven't done 50 in one go It's been over the past 3-4 days. I try to do set by set and once one set is done and up on display I take a break before the next one.

It might have been more fun if 1.) I was actually good at cleaning ponies I have no ideas about any special tricks or whatever to make them extra shiny. I just clean them of with medical gasoline which removes tougher stains but is easy on the plastic. And 2.) If I wasn't so impatient I want them all up on display right away. Putting one or two up each day would mean it would take me about 2 years to get them all up on display

[Lady.Arachnia]

Sometimes i think....could ponies go in the dishwasher...
But i think you have then melted ponies with no symbols and eyes and such...but it would be so handy if it could...
I clean my ponies right away when i get them in...i am a little afraid of who handled them and what they did with them...

[Sanadaookami]

Do you have any pony collecting friends in your area? If so invite them over and have a cleaning/shelving party!
I personally love cleaning ponies and have done rounds of 70+ in one day, but I'm nuts Try going at them with a magic eraser- its really fast for surface dirt~

[moonflower]

I can usually only clean about 6 in one session as I do find it tedious. I really feel for you, I can't imagine having a whole herd of ponies requiring attention!

[FairyDust]

If I lived near you I'd clean them for you!  I love cleaning ponies.  I usually have to limit how many ponies I do at one time (about 9-13).  Hardest part is waiting for them to dry!

Here is something that sometimes helps me.  Sometimes I use my mr clean magic eraser to clean the bodies of all of them first.  Then when the bodies are clean I condition the hair.

Oh, and maybe it would help you to seperate them by how much work they need.  You know, the ones that only need a small body scrub in one pile, ones that need a little body scrub and a light condition in another, ones that are really smelly or really dirty in another pile, ones that need extra care (like with glitter symbols) in another pile).  It breaks them down into small piles so you don't have to think about how many there really are to clean too.

[Desert Rose]

I don't think we have Magic Eraser here. If we do have an equivalence I don't know what it is =/ It does sound very handy though

[PurpleCheeseStick]

I personally have no problem cleaning my ponies- I've literally sat down for four to six hours and worked on restoring ponies with no breaks in between, it doesn't bother me much. I just have to keep my focus limited to my ponies once I get started though, if I get distracted then I get fidgety and can't keep working on them anymore.

My G3 army is in serious need of hair styling (storage hair = WHYYYYYYYYY /sob) but I've decided to put their hair styling on hold until I have a place to display them.

I second everybody else's opinions, work on a couple ponies at a time, and do the ones who are in really bad shape first. Perhaps you can listen to music or watch tv or movies for background noise to put some of your attention on besides the ponies? Then it feels like less of a chore for me  and then my cats can join me lol.

[Marlin]

I love cleaning ponies 

When you say they have been in storage - in ziplock bags not fully sealed - and it is only surface dirt - maybe you don't need to get too carried away?  It's amazing what a nappy wipe can accomplish! Just a thought if they only need a light wipe over?     Very quick and you don't have to get the pony wet....

[gabumon]

Magic Eraser or the alternative brand, is a Must Have!

However.... You have me worried...

Are you saying ponies in baggies are getting dirty?!  I don't get it.

[Sugar]

Aw, wish I lived in your neck of the woods, Desert Rose; I'd help!

I usually tackle two or three at a time.  It's gotten colder here again (and my work area's in the basement - unfinished), so I can't do more than that until my fingers start to feel it.   But it helps when I have my son nearby and we talk and play word games, or when he's watching a movie and I listen along.  Makes the scrubbing time pass faster.

I don't know, though, how ponies get so dirty when they're in storage.  I personally subscribe to the theory that the Toy Story movies had it right.  They party when we're not around...!

As for Magic Erasers, someone on another forum (something about Macbooks) suggested trying Carrefour for finding something similar, do they have Carrefour near you?  Just a thought.

[louiselovesbagsandshoes]

Sometimes i think....could ponies go in the dishwasher...
But i think you have then melted ponies with no symbols and eyes and such...but it would be so handy if it could...
I clean my ponies right away when i get them in...i am a little afraid of who handled them and what they did with them...

They can go in the dishwasher!  I have done it with no problems anyway, and if you have stubborn heads and catch them right away after the cycle finishes, they're still hot and are easier to get off   And I'm the same, I never know what they've been through so like to clean them all! xx