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Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: rosietrot on February 06, 2014, 01:52:00 PM

Title: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: rosietrot on February 06, 2014, 01:52:00 PM
So, as I have been trolling ebay ("trolling" in the traditional searching way, not the mean way) I have been noticing that people see highlighter marks on ponies and I thought that was a little strange that SO many kids use highlighters on ponies.  Plus, it's always yellowish-green highlighter.  Well, after collecting and noticing patterns on my own 2nd set of rainbow ponies (year 3) I noticed that these ponies have a higher likelihood of highlighter.

Think of the following:
1. Notice how BRIGHT the yellow streak is in this series? 
2. Notice how mane colors FADE?

On a side note, where do colors "go" when they fade?  Well, I haven't noticed the yellow fade, although the blue and pink certainly do.

Take a look at the colors here: http://www.ponylandpress.com/us/rainbow2.shtml

 My theory is that the "highlighter marks" are actually the bright yellow mane, after 30 years, laying color down on the vinyl pony.


Maybe this point has been belabored by veterans, but I found it a common possible misconception.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Thunderwing on February 06, 2014, 02:07:29 PM
You are exactly right! People call it highlighter marks because of the colors - but I've known for a long time it wasn't. The yellow does come from the bright yellow manes of other ponies, when said ponies are left to lay against each other for a long time. Good reason why yellow hair should be wrapped in paper towel when it rests against (any) pony. Such as when they are shipped, or stored.  Pink highlighter I found, came from the dyes in grocery bags. I discovered this when I used to use grocery bags as padding between layers of ponies in boxes in storage. The ponies came out with pink marks on them! Paler pink marks can also be caused by the elastics used in pony wear, like the princess hats, or the elastic in the neck-seam of the baby pony nightgowns. Makes sense, since when I was a kid, we all toted our G1's around in a grocery bag.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: kaoskat on February 06, 2014, 02:11:30 PM
The pink marks can also come from those wonderful pink saddles that came with some of the playsets. Lesson to learn: Don't leave accessories on display ponies.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Thunderwing on February 06, 2014, 02:13:51 PM
The pink marks can also come from those wonderful pink saddles that came with some of the playsets. Lesson to learn: Don't leave accessories on display ponies.

Ah yes, I had forgotten that one!  This is also true - I have quite a few ponies that I've gotten along the years, with so called 'saddle sores'. That pink saddle from the ... playset that Lemondrop came with that I can't remember the name of... is especially naughty for leaving marks!  Oh, and so do the shoes from G1 ponywear.
Title: Re: \"Highlighter Marks\" are not children\'s fault! Science!
Post by: TinyShinyUnique on February 06, 2014, 02:17:38 PM
I knew about the hair colors too. And accessories. But I've been one of the kids who 'beautified' their fakies with markers. Ahem. Great to know about the elastics!

G2's 'ponywear' is also able to stain the ponies :( especially the red bandanna Miss Painter has. Don't make her wear that or the green will stain in red. The same goes for Globe Trotter too.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: MaronaPossessed on February 06, 2014, 02:26:54 PM
Here comes the day...where children will be smarter than adults...and children will enslave us... :lookround:
Title: Re: \"Highlighter Marks\" are not children\'s fault! Science!
Post by: Carrehz on February 06, 2014, 02:32:28 PM
G2's 'ponywear' is also able to stain the ponies :( especially the red bandanna Miss Painter has. Don't make her wear that or the green will stain in red. The same goes for Globe Trotter too.

Oh, thanks for posting this!! I just got Miss Painter complete with her accessories and I had no idea her bandana could stain. Luckily I hadn't put it on her yet :) Thank you!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Stormness_1 on February 06, 2014, 03:03:43 PM
..unless of course the symbols/eyes/lips/nostrils/ears have been 'coloured in' and there's now a 'highlighter' outline... yep, that's real highlighter, or pen at any rate!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: mellowhen on February 06, 2014, 03:12:48 PM
Anyone know how to get the pink ones out, in any case? They are all over my poor Butterscotch :(
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Stormness_1 on February 06, 2014, 03:16:54 PM
sunfading is the only known cure.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: FarDreamer on February 06, 2014, 04:08:17 PM
http://mlppreservationproject.com/body.html#HighlighterMarks

Yellow highlighter marks are probably from Chartreuse hair bleeding.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: elish2 on February 06, 2014, 04:32:10 PM
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I just noticed the ponies with the bright neon colors seemed to have these marks....not sure how they leaked, but that was what I assumed was happening...
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: gabumon on February 06, 2014, 06:03:37 PM
Wow! I didn't know that was a cause of the marks.  My goodness I learn something new about MLP all the time!!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: moonflower on February 07, 2014, 07:04:40 AM
Yellow highlighter marks are usually down to chartreuse hair leakage. Even if the affected pony has no yellow hair it is possible she had yellow-haired friends! You can try and prevent this from happening by washing out the excess yellow dye from the hair and then drying the hair with paper towel between hair and body to prevent the hair from touching the body. If storing ponies with chartreuse hair, wrap the hair in acid-free tissue paper to prevent hair touching pony or other ponies being stored with it.

Pink highlighter marks are usually ponies being stored with saddles and accessories on them and are sometimes called "saddle sores" for this reason.  Red dye is particularly unstable and breaks down easily. The dye leeches out of the saddle/accessory and stains where it is in contact with the pony. Pony vinyl is quite porous and easily stains. Of course, a pony could also get staining from other toys if stored in contact with them. A mixed box of toys in someone's attic for instance - most people don't think about how they go about storing toys carefully like us collectors.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: gabumon on February 07, 2014, 07:39:54 AM
do these guidelines apply to all generations of ponies?

is it just g1?
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: TinyShinyUnique on February 07, 2014, 07:52:24 AM
Surely it applies to G2's. I've seen a Princess Crystal with her tail hole colored in 'highlighter' yellow :cloud: And as i mentioned earlier the bandanas can leave stains. I'm still trying to figure out why only one of my ponies, Eve, got her head discolored to creamy though - I've opened her up and she was clean inside so it must be something else in the plastic....
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: mlp4me on February 07, 2014, 08:17:56 AM
I'm pretty much going with the theory that gremlins sneak out at night and color on ponies with markers. Then they give them play-doh facials. For the final wipe down there's dust, lots of dust...
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: UnicornTamer on February 07, 2014, 08:32:14 AM
That is very interesting! Thanks!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Marigold on February 07, 2014, 08:35:33 AM
I don't know, but last night I dreamed all my ponies with yellow hair bled into their bodies thanks to this thread. 
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Stormness_1 on February 07, 2014, 03:10:04 PM
^^ this... except this morning I woke up to see Rosedust and Morning glory on the g4 carousel at the foot of my bed... they must have been knocked down by hubby and he's picked them back up, because you couldn't see Rosedust for Morning Glory's hair - I was like "NOOOOOO!"

 :lmao:
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 08, 2014, 03:48:20 AM
We have had a couple of discussions on this before. :) The yellow straining is typically from hair that yellow is notoriously non-colour fast [in fact a lot of neon colours suffer the same thing] and sometimes pink is saddle sores or of course regrind on certain ponies, however a lot of the random pink marks are the plastic itself breaking down. Over time and usually when exposed to some kind of water or humidity plastic breaks down and this can cause an issue with the pigment and the plastic itself which causes it to change colour - typically to a pink colour. It is the same thing you will see around plug holes, a pinkish shade.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: gabumon on February 08, 2014, 07:15:16 AM
so could this happen to newer gens too?

or was the color unfasteness only g1!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: partypony566 on February 08, 2014, 07:44:14 AM
The pink marks can also come from those wonderful pink saddles that came with some of the playsets. Lesson to learn: Don't leave accessories on display ponies.

This!

Also, don't leave clothing on ponies for a long period of time either...I destroyed a Minty by leaving a corset on her and it stained her body :cry:
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on February 08, 2014, 08:29:12 AM
Yes, this applies to all generations, even modern ponies - the materials used in them are chemically unstable, and as the years go by they break down.  Decay is the eventual fate of every material, no matter how well made, and toys are particularly prone to this. 
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 08, 2014, 10:10:48 AM
Yes, this applies to all generations, even modern ponies - the materials used in them are chemically unstable, and as the years go by they break down.  Decay is the eventual fate of every material, no matter how well made, and toys are particularly prone to this. 

Yup this.

Unfortunately ponies are manufactured pretty cheaply. In fact, can you imagine how cheap they must be to have stayed the same price for 30 years? Yes they have got smaller so materials are less but G3s are not that much smaller than G1s.

Cheap plastic is going to degrade with time and we have even seen already with the plasticiser and glue/rot issues with G3 that there break down is happening even faster than on some G1s.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on February 08, 2014, 10:16:34 AM
Yes, this applies to all generations, even modern ponies - the materials used in them are chemically unstable, and as the years go by they break down.  Decay is the eventual fate of every material, no matter how well made, and toys are particularly prone to this. 

Pretty much this.  There are some things you can do to slow the process down, but mostly it's just accepting that these are 30 year old TOYS that were manufactured super cheaply by the millions.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: spottedslug on February 08, 2014, 01:35:22 PM
Entropy!

Yep, lots of causes for highlighter markers. Sometimes it actually is highlighters too.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: gabumon on February 08, 2014, 02:01:57 PM
looks like I'm going on a chartreuse witch hunt !!!!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Einhornbaby on February 08, 2014, 04:05:31 PM
Yellow highlighter marks also tend to come from the Scholltime poniesĀ“ bags. I ruined my perfectly mint Sportstime that way :(
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Sarah-Bee on February 09, 2014, 03:47:14 AM
The pink marks can also come from those wonderful pink saddles that came with some of the playsets. Lesson to learn: Don't leave accessories on display ponies.

This! I bought what I thought was a really mint Sunlight from a car boot sale but she was wearing a saddle and when I took it off - HUGE pink marks! GAH!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: rosietrot on February 13, 2014, 02:47:42 AM
I just bought a tooth whitener at Walgreens today, the kind that uses light. In going to try it on a specific area and see if that works.  I'll probably mask off the surrounding area and get it to just shine on the marks... We will see!!
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 13, 2014, 03:41:35 AM
I would be careful with that as it has the same properties as hydrogen peroxide and some acne creams; both of which can discolour a pony.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Pheasant on February 13, 2014, 09:00:48 AM
I'm going to guess this would also apply to customs rehaired with certain hair colors, right?  :blink: Or are Katsilk and other hair brands more well made to prevent this?
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 13, 2014, 03:09:10 PM
I'm going to guess this would also apply to customs rehaired with certain hair colors, right?  :blink: Or are Katsilk and other hair brands more well made to prevent this?

The colour fast issue is something that happens in most nylon hair products to do with how the dye takes as far as I am aware. In fact its not just nylon hair, neon colours can be a problem in just about any product. However its possible that different manufacturers treat their hair different ways or use a slightly different process which causes less or even more of an issue.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Stars on February 13, 2014, 04:09:54 PM
Is there any other cure than sunfading for pink highlighter marks? my G2 Basket Surprise Sweet Berry has some tiny neon pink marks and so far nothing has removed them, not even nail polish remover. However I have heard you MUST NOT sunfade Sweet Berry (she's light purple) so is there anything else I can try?
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 13, 2014, 04:12:46 PM
Not really :( If you have tried acetone and magic eraser, sun fading is the only real bet remaining.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Binny on February 13, 2014, 11:37:47 PM
I have a Bright Eyes still in her box never opened that has a bright pink mark on her leg, so it has to be something other than marker.
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: Trinity on February 14, 2014, 04:19:42 AM
Are there any resources out there to help prevent colour leaking/fading to begin with? And plastic breakdowns?
Title: Re: "Highlighter Marks" are not children's fault! Science!
Post by: hathorcat on February 14, 2014, 12:53:27 PM
You can try www.mlppreservationproject.com - it has lots of information :)

The only way to prevent the colour leaking is to stop wet/damp hair pressing against the pony's body. Or if the pony lives in a slightly humid environment then by placing something between the hair and the body.

Nylon hair is already treated and pretty colour fast with the exception of a couple of colours. To increase the colour fast on the hair you have to use a vinegar treatment and while it does help it does not hold the colour completely and you have to be careful when doing it as it can initially cause a significant amount of dye to leak.
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