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Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mohawk on April 30, 2012, 07:46:06 AM

Title: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Mohawk on April 30, 2012, 07:46:06 AM
Let me premise this by saying that I've never had cause to use peroxide fading yet, so this is all just theory in my head. ...For now, muaha.

Point one: I've seen people note over and over again that when you're peroxide fading a pony, it won't work unless the pony-and-peroxide jar is placed in the sun. It's also generally agreed that peroxide fading is more effective than plain, dry sun fading.

Point two: I also know that water/moisture enhances UV rays. As in, you'll get a tan/burn much faster if you're swimming in clear water or spraying yourself with a spritzer bottle (or smearing yourself with cocoa butter, which I will never understand) than you would just being in the sun with dry skin. I'd link to citations here, but I'm lazy. :P It's true, though.

Which leads me to question whether the peroxide is necessary at all? If the peroxide doesn't work on its own, then that implies that the sun is the real agent at work here. But people agree that it seems to work better when the pony is sitting in diluted peroxide. Doesn't it seem, assuming both points are true, that "peroxide fading" might work just as well if the pony were sitting in a jar of plain water in the sun? That the real catalyst is just the water content of the peroxide and not its... peroxidiness?

Personally, I feel this is worth looking into, as if it's found that water works just as well, it will give collectors another way to avoid leaching chemicals into their ponies.

I would begin this experiment today, but I don't have suitable ponies to have both a control and a variable. Ideally, both would have to be the same color and with a similar level and type of tarnish or stain. Would anyone here be willing to undergo this experiment and document the results for us? Or does anyone have some ponies or baits that they'd be willing to donate (or sell) for the purposes of ADVANCING SCIENCE?

(Or has anyone already tried this and can debunk my hypothesis with firm evidence right now? Because I'd totally accept that.)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: NoDivision on April 30, 2012, 08:07:25 AM
INTERESTING. you raise some valid points... I'd be curious for someone to be able to try it.

We know that peroxide can in fact make a diference, because people use the cream or paste to smear on solid surfaces like playsets and it fades marks (I believe without sun. Well sun is used for a heat source in some instances, but the rays of the sun are not penetrating the plastic as the paste is opaque.) However, the liquid peroxide that people are using is of course far more diluted, so isn't working as drastically.

The only way to know might be a controled side by side experiment as yo suggested. Anyone have any victims? :D
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: LadySatine on April 30, 2012, 08:47:46 AM
Challenge accepted! Lol not really, just wanted to pop in and say that. /BarneyfromHowIMetYourMother...
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: lemontwist on April 30, 2012, 08:48:10 AM
It would be cool to see the results! Even if peroxide works better in the end, it the plain water works well too than it'd still be really good to know.

You'd need three ponies, one for peroxide, one for water, and one for regular dry sunfading.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: ponylady on April 30, 2012, 08:51:48 AM
I am interested in seeing this also.  :tellme:
 
Sooo who's going to try it first?
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Rhini on April 30, 2012, 09:07:02 AM
I've been meaning to start sun-fading some ponies as it's finally getting sunny out again, I can check when I get home to see if I have a few with similar levels of yellow/stain. I also have peroxide already as well (though i've heard this makes them hard? Is that why people dilute it?).


I'm thinking I would put one pony out there with nothing on it, one with diluted peroxide in a mason jar, and another in plain water in a mason jar. They would have to be baby ponies seeing as the mason jars aren't very big, but I'm pretty sure I have quite a few baity baby moondancers and baby glorys to try :) For some reason those two are always nasty and never have tails when I find them XD


I'm open to suggestions/tips to make this a better more scientific experiment! Like for instance, I was thinking about checking them once a week, and turning them halfway through the week. When I take them out of the jars, should I replace the water/solution with new stuff or continue to use the old? Should I completely submerge the pony, as most people agree it's the water's reflection that makes the difference?


Another interesting thing to try may be to set up a backdrop of foil to act like one of those tanning things people hold and see if that makes a difference.


This sounds like fun!  :biggrin:  I love testing/experimenting xD
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: mlp4me on April 30, 2012, 09:40:05 AM
I'd love to join in on this except the weather has been quite drab here lately; I may have to wait a few weeks for spring to finally kick in...
I've got a baby moondancer w/cancer that I'd like to try with just the sun/water to see if she'll lighten up.

I sunfaded a Majesty in H202, came out nice and white, but hard as a rock, used the same H202 for the entire time she was in the jar. And used that same H202 when I sunfaded Raspberry Jam. Each pony bubbled like crazy upon first entry into H202, after awhile they do not bubble as much.


Where is templeflower? She's quite knowledgable regarding this and has had many good answers regarding this process. I hope she'll chime in soon!
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: sd_dreamcrystal on April 30, 2012, 10:36:44 AM
Being I've tried using both methods on a Baby Moondancer (my restored one). There is a few points I wish I could try.. but I'd need 3 to 4 ponies in a similar condition (I'd ask for babies because of their small size).

When I was working on Baby Moondancer, I knew normal sunfading wouldn't work on her. So I went with with 3 ways, Normal sunfading at one point, using 10%benzoyl peroxide cream on 2 to 3 spots on her, then mostly hydrogen peroxide bath fading.

mlp4me mentioned that her pony got rock hard, I've seen a case where a pony's hair changed color, but my case was different. My pony's hair didn't change color nor did she really get hard (she was already wasn't that soft when I got her to begin with). The only thing that happened to the hair really was it got courser, which I know from other fadings I did if the hair isn't covered in the sun it will get courser. I have a G1 BBE Gusty who was normal sunfaded and that happened (though most of my ponies sit on a paper towel in the car when I do this).

Here is some test I thought based off the points in the first post:
Point one: peroxide fading a pony only works in the sun
Point two: peroxide not needed for fading, just water to make the UV stronger.
That last point has one out of the bath just to see if liquid is need at all. This might be hard to test though because it's not that easy to find ponies all in the same condition :| This would also show the effect each kind of treatment does to ponies as far as symbols and hair.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: babystarz on April 30, 2012, 10:49:26 AM
For me to believe the results, I'd need a more representative sample because even ponies in what appears to be similar condition could react very differently due to factors that have nothing to do with the fading method. So I would encourage you to either repeat the 3 pony experiment 4 times, OR (and this would make for more robust results) do 4 ponies with each different method at once :) A sample size of 12 ponies will give you much more data to either support or reject your hypothesis.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Elisto on April 30, 2012, 11:49:01 AM
I'm interested to see the results. From what I understand, UV light breaks down peroxide to create free radicals faster than the peroxide decomposes on it's own...so I wonder if it's not that peroxide doesn't work on it's own, or that it just works too slowly without sunlight to have a noticeable effect...another possibility to consider...how long has anyone left a pony in peroxide without sun?
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: MonstarNomNom on April 30, 2012, 12:00:59 PM
The scientificness of this thread has blown my mind :silly:
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: hyenacub on April 30, 2012, 12:13:20 PM
I did not photo document it, but I figured I'd say that I whitened a baby glory with just peroxide.  It was in a bathroom that was mostly dark.  c:
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: BlackCurtains on April 30, 2012, 12:27:54 PM
Bones whiten in peroxide without sunlight. In fact, it's the best way to whiten them. Some people will lay them in sunlight after soaking in peroxide, but I never do and my bones are as white as "professionally" whitened ones.

Also, the strength of the sun is not the same everywhere. I did this without peroxide at all, in about three days-
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It might be worth to try for people who live in different climates. Obviously, someone in the Northeast or England wouldn't be able to get results like the above from the sun alone so quickly.

I'll see what I can do.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Dyzarktarzk on April 30, 2012, 12:49:55 PM
Interesting points.

In my case, I've never put the pony in peroxide, but just cleaned it WITH cotton swabs and peroxide.  I just have done this to one pony (BBE Baby Gusty), and need to search for the after and before pics.

I never put her in the sun, just used peroxide to clean her.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Mohawk on April 30, 2012, 01:22:37 PM
Oh, goody! Looks like we have a lot of willing experimenters here. Hooray!

Peroxide does definitely have its effect. It's the safer bleach alternative for everything from human hair to bones (as BlackCurtains said). ALL of these methods will be effective... eventually. The question is of how quickly/thoroughly they are effective in comparison with each other, and whether the water/sun bath is effective enough to be a viable alternative to peroxide.

Lemontwist, of course. Three ponies. That would make more sense and I'm embarrassed not to have thought of that.

Babystarz, good on you for mentioning sample size. Originally I'd thought to just do it myself, but this would be better. (Also, I didn't think quite so many people would be on board with the idea!)

It might also be easier to have several people running the same 3-pony experiment at their own windows instead of one person with a dozen ponies. Differences in climate/latitude shouldn't be a problem since results don't have to be measured between windows, only between the 3 ponies on each window. This isn't going to be exact science, after all, just relative.

For the same reason, questions of how many days/how often ponies are turned/what color each person's ponies are/etc. shouldn't matter, as long as each person handles all 3 of their ponies the same way.

Sd_Dreamcrystal, I totally love your thoroughness. ^^ Also, I don't know if anyone really expects to find 3 ponies all in the exact same condition. Similar condition, or at least similar problems (3 ponies with moderate to extensive highlighter marks, for example), at least seems like it should be manageable if we get enough people and/or pool resources.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Rhini on April 30, 2012, 01:28:30 PM
Bones whiten in peroxide without sunlight. In fact, it's the best way to whiten them. Some people will lay them in sunlight after soaking in peroxide, but I never do and my bones are as white as "professionally" whitened ones.

Also, the strength of the sun is not the same everywhere. I did this without peroxide at all, in about three days-

It might be worth to try for people who live in different climates. Obviously, someone in the Northeast or England wouldn't be able to get results like the above from the sun alone so quickly.

I'll see what I can do.
Did she get all hard though? :/ That's always what's kept me from trying it on my ponies since people have said they get so brittle they can be damaged.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: hathorcat on April 30, 2012, 01:40:21 PM
Wow! Fascinating stuff guys...I cant wait to follow you on these experiments. As someone a little afraid to use any chemicals on ponies if I can avoid it, I ll be really curious as to whether the water/sun bath has the same speed of effect as the peroxide/sun bath.

Good luck all!
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: BlackCurtains on April 30, 2012, 02:59:05 PM
I have found victims but I've a question for those already versed in peroxide and ponies - Does peroxide harm glitter symbols?

Bones whiten in peroxide without sunlight. In fact, it's the best way to whiten them. Some people will lay them in sunlight after soaking in peroxide, but I never do and my bones are as white as "professionally" whitened ones.

Also, the strength of the sun is not the same everywhere. I did this without peroxide at all, in about three days-

It might be worth to try for people who live in different climates. Obviously, someone in the Northeast or England wouldn't be able to get results like the above from the sun alone so quickly.

I'll see what I can do.
Did she get all hard though? :/ That's always what's kept me from trying it on my ponies since people have said they get so brittle they can be damaged.

Hard? No, she's fine. The Precious Pocket ponies are bigger and tougher than other ponies already (at least the ones I have are) but she's not *hard* like Sky Rocket or Party Time can get. You can still squeeze her middle and legs.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Rhini on April 30, 2012, 03:06:10 PM
I have found victims but I've a question for those already versed in peroxide and ponies - Does peroxide harm glitter symbols?

Bones whiten in peroxide without sunlight. In fact, it's the best way to whiten them. Some people will lay them in sunlight after soaking in peroxide, but I never do and my bones are as white as "professionally" whitened ones.

Also, the strength of the sun is not the same everywhere. I did this without peroxide at all, in about three days-

It might be worth to try for people who live in different climates. Obviously, someone in the Northeast or England wouldn't be able to get results like the above from the sun alone so quickly.

I'll see what I can do.
Did she get all hard though? :/ That's always what's kept me from trying it on my ponies since people have said they get so brittle they can be damaged.

Hard? No, she's fine. The Precious Pocket ponies are bigger and tougher than other ponies already (at least the ones I have are) but she's not *hard* like Sky Rocket or Party Time can get. You can still squeeze her middle and legs.
I was just wondering because if i'm remembering correctly other members said their ponies got like rock hard after using peroxide on them, but I don't know what strength they were using or how long they left it on.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: BlackCurtains on April 30, 2012, 03:11:07 PM
I didn't use peroxide on her. She was plain sun faded.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Dyzarktarzk on April 30, 2012, 04:41:43 PM
I have found victims but I've a question for those already versed in peroxide and ponies - Does peroxide harm glitter symbols?

Bones whiten in peroxide without sunlight. In fact, it's the best way to whiten them. Some people will lay them in sunlight after soaking in peroxide, but I never do and my bones are as white as "professionally" whitened ones.

Also, the strength of the sun is not the same everywhere. I did this without peroxide at all, in about three days-

It might be worth to try for people who live in different climates. Obviously, someone in the Northeast or England wouldn't be able to get results like the above from the sun alone so quickly.

I'll see what I can do.
Did she get all hard though? :/ That's always what's kept me from trying it on my ponies since people have said they get so brittle they can be damaged.

Hard? No, she's fine. The Precious Pocket ponies are bigger and tougher than other ponies already (at least the ones I have are) but she's not *hard* like Sky Rocket or Party Time can get. You can still squeeze her middle and legs.

Glitter symbols?  Nope, or maybe I haven't had a problem because cotton swabs with peroxide and gently passing them over does not take out the symbol XD  (yeah... I was completely forgeting poor abandoned Skyflier that I started to clean with peroxide and then abandoned him...  *hides from poor Skyflier*)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: DevlishSmooch on April 30, 2012, 05:04:23 PM
This is an awesome idea!  I have a bunch of ponies that need fading, but I don't know if I have the time to do anything with them right now...
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: nsunshine on May 01, 2012, 12:00:07 AM
something I will have to try...guess I never heard of it!!
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Rhini on May 01, 2012, 07:18:11 AM
I didn't use peroxide on her. She was plain sun faded.
XD You're right I mis-read. Whoops! Man that is some powerful sun you've got there if you can do that in 3 days o_O

Maybe I should bring ponies to sundfade in my hotel room while I'm down there for the fair :P
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: babystarz on May 01, 2012, 11:54:48 AM
Quote
Babystarz, good on you for mentioning sample size. Originally I'd thought to just do it myself, but this would be better. (Also, I didn't think quite so many people would be on board with the idea!)It might also be easier to have several people running the same 3-pony experiment at their own windows instead of one person with a dozen ponies. Differences in climate/latitude shouldn't be a problem since results don't have to be measured between windows, only between the 3 ponies on each window. This isn't going to be exact science, after all, just relative.


Great idea! I would definitely be up for testing a set of ponies :) I would need a bit of time to get 3 ponies that are the same color and in similar condition.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Dyzarktarzk on May 01, 2012, 12:04:28 PM
I have one in need of a real sunfading.  Need to sort through some ponies and experiment on them. 
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: hikari_amaya on May 02, 2012, 07:29:42 AM
Wow and they say ponies are for kids xP I believe theres science in them!! Trial and error :) I'll keep checking back I've a buggy that I neeed to clean up once I recieve it :)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: lovesbabysquirmy on May 02, 2012, 07:52:13 AM
I love the science part of restoring ponies... I'll keep an eye on this thread!  :)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Jenn77 on May 02, 2012, 02:59:26 PM
 Well hopefully my question is too far of topic. Can a discolored Masquerade head (head darker than body) be lightened by any of these or different methods?
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: babystarz on May 02, 2012, 06:10:00 PM
Well hopefully my question is too far of topic. Can a discolored Masquerade head (head darker than body) be lightened by any of these or different methods?

Yep! I would go with sunfading, as peroxide damages hair, twinkle eyes, and sometimes symbols. Yellow ponies also respond very well to sunfading. I've got a Munchy working on her marks myself :P  Sunfading is always possible for lightening.

I would suggest you tape her whole body up with painter's tape, up to the neck seam. Get the edges of the tape in between the two parts, so that it doesn't go over the neck seam onto the part you want to fade. Don't be afraid to double or triple layer the tape, the goal is to not let any light reach the pony's body through cracks. Then carefully rip little pieces of painter's tape off the roll to cover her eyes and individual eyelashes. Then, cover her hair with tinfoil (tail too) up to the roots. I also add painter's tape to the roots to make sure no light gets in, and the foil stays flush against the pony. Just be careful to only put the very edge of the tape on the pony's neck - you don't want to end up with an unfaded line! The tail, just foil up then tape it to the body.

After you're finished with the prep, put her in a sunny window. Check her every day, even if a particular day isn't sunny - she will still fade a bit on a cloudy day. Flip her so her other side faces the sun every 5-7 days, making sure that her foiled hair isn't casting a shadow (again, you don't want an unfaded line).

Depending on where you live and weather conditions, she could take as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of months to fade back to the same color as her body. Since you're in Kentucky and summer is starting, I doubt it'll take longer than a month. Just be sure to check her every day, so you don't have the opposite problem (darker body, lighter head). All you need to do to check is peel back the tape below her neck seam a little and compare, then put the tape back (painter's tape re-tapes pretty well!) Also make sure the tape isn't lifting off from the eyes - I find I usually need to pat it down because the curve of the eyes makes the tape slightly uncooperative.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Jenn77 on May 02, 2012, 07:37:25 PM
Well hopefully my question is too far of topic. Can a discolored Masquerade head (head darker than body) be lightened by any of these or different methods?

Yep! I would go with sunfading, as peroxide damages hair, twinkle eyes, and sometimes symbols. Yellow ponies also respond very well to sunfading. I've got a Munchy working on her marks myself :P  Sunfading is always possible for lightening.

I would suggest you tape her whole body up with painter's tape, up to the neck seam. Get the edges of the tape in between the two parts, so that it doesn't go over the neck seam onto the part you want to fade. Don't be afraid to double or triple layer the tape, the goal is to not let any light reach the pony's body through cracks. Then carefully rip little pieces of painter's tape off the roll to cover her eyes and individual eyelashes. Then, cover her hair with tinfoil (tail too) up to the roots. I also add painter's tape to the roots to make sure no light gets in, and the foil stays flush against the pony. Just be careful to only put the very edge of the tape on the pony's neck - you don't want to end up with an unfaded line! The tail, just foil up then tape it to the body.

After you're finished with the prep, put her in a sunny window. Check her every day, even if a particular day isn't sunny - she will still fade a bit on a cloudy day. Flip her so her other side faces the sun every 5-7 days, making sure that her foiled hair isn't casting a shadow (again, you don't want an unfaded line).

Depending on where you live and weather conditions, she could take as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of months to fade back to the same color as her body. Since you're in Kentucky and summer is starting, I doubt it'll take longer than a month. Just be sure to check her every day, so you don't have the opposite problem (darker body, lighter head). All you need to do to check is peel back the tape below her neck seam a little and compare, then put the tape back (painter's tape re-tapes pretty well!) Also make sure the tape isn't lifting off from the eyes - I find I usually need to pat it down because the curve of the eyes makes the tape slightly uncooperative.


 That's great and thank you for the helpful info  :biggrin: , I appreciate it and I will try that out. I hope all goes well with sun fading your Munchy :D
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Mohawk on May 03, 2012, 04:28:56 AM
Well hopefully my question is too far of topic. Can a discolored Masquerade head (head darker than body) be lightened by any of these or different methods?

Yep! I would go with sunfading, as peroxide damages hair, twinkle eyes, and sometimes symbols. Yellow ponies also respond very well to sunfading. I've got a Munchy working on her marks myself :P  Sunfading is always possible for lightening.

I would suggest you tape her whole body up with painter's tape, up to the neck seam. Get the edges of the tape in between the two parts, so that it doesn't go over the neck seam onto the part you want to fade. Don't be afraid to double or triple layer the tape, the goal is to not let any light reach the pony's body through cracks. Then carefully rip little pieces of painter's tape off the roll to cover her eyes and individual eyelashes. Then, cover her hair with tinfoil (tail too) up to the roots. I also add painter's tape to the roots to make sure no light gets in, and the foil stays flush against the pony. Just be careful to only put the very edge of the tape on the pony's neck - you don't want to end up with an unfaded line! The tail, just foil up then tape it to the body.

After you're finished with the prep, put her in a sunny window. Check her every day, even if a particular day isn't sunny - she will still fade a bit on a cloudy day. Flip her so her other side faces the sun every 5-7 days, making sure that her foiled hair isn't casting a shadow (again, you don't want an unfaded line).

Depending on where you live and weather conditions, she could take as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of months to fade back to the same color as her body. Since you're in Kentucky and summer is starting, I doubt it'll take longer than a month. Just be sure to check her every day, so you don't have the opposite problem (darker body, lighter head). All you need to do to check is peel back the tape below her neck seam a little and compare, then put the tape back (painter's tape re-tapes pretty well!) Also make sure the tape isn't lifting off from the eyes - I find I usually need to pat it down because the curve of the eyes makes the tape slightly uncooperative.

Personally, I'd just remove the head and keep the body someplace dark rather than cover the whole body in tape. Then just carry the body to the windowsill when it's time to check progress.

Just another option.
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Jenn77 on May 03, 2012, 09:22:56 AM
Well hopefully my question is too far of topic. Can a discolored Masquerade head (head darker than body) be lightened by any of these or different methods?

Yep! I would go with sunfading, as peroxide damages hair, twinkle eyes, and sometimes symbols. Yellow ponies also respond very well to sunfading. I've got a Munchy working on her marks myself :P  Sunfading is always possible for lightening.

I would suggest you tape her whole body up with painter's tape, up to the neck seam. Get the edges of the tape in between the two parts, so that it doesn't go over the neck seam onto the part you want to fade. Don't be afraid to double or triple layer the tape, the goal is to not let any light reach the pony's body through cracks. Then carefully rip little pieces of painter's tape off the roll to cover her eyes and individual eyelashes. Then, cover her hair with tinfoil (tail too) up to the roots. I also add painter's tape to the roots to make sure no light gets in, and the foil stays flush against the pony. Just be careful to only put the very edge of the tape on the pony's neck - you don't want to end up with an unfaded line! The tail, just foil up then tape it to the body.

After you're finished with the prep, put her in a sunny window. Check her every day, even if a particular day isn't sunny - she will still fade a bit on a cloudy day. Flip her so her other side faces the sun every 5-7 days, making sure that her foiled hair isn't casting a shadow (again, you don't want an unfaded line).

Depending on where you live and weather conditions, she could take as little as two weeks or as long as a couple of months to fade back to the same color as her body. Since you're in Kentucky and summer is starting, I doubt it'll take longer than a month. Just be sure to check her every day, so you don't have the opposite problem (darker body, lighter head). All you need to do to check is peel back the tape below her neck seam a little and compare, then put the tape back (painter's tape re-tapes pretty well!) Also make sure the tape isn't lifting off from the eyes - I find I usually need to pat it down because the curve of the eyes makes the tape slightly uncooperative.

Personally, I'd just remove the head and keep the body someplace dark rather than cover the whole body in tape. Then just carry the body to the windowsill when it's time to check progress.

Just another option.

Believe it or not I was thinking of that myself :O)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: I Hate My Pony on May 03, 2012, 05:59:40 PM
(Or has anyone already tried this and can debunk my hypothesis with firm evidence right now? Because I'd totally accept that.)



I can explain this. Hydrogen peroxide itself does not fade the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and it is this oxygen that fades the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen over time. Heat and sun will break it down faster. So when you shine sunlight on peroxide, oxygen is created quicker, and as a result, ponies fade faster (more oxygen more fade). Sunlight does not make hydrogen peroxide fade better, only faster (not counting the fact that sunlight itself fades ponies through a completely different process).


Something that might blow a few peoples minds is that any stain faded by hydrogen peroxide can be reversed with various chemicals. You are not removing the stain with hydrogen peroxide you are only making the color molecule transparent - the stain is actually still there. It is also possible that exposure to the air will do the same and the stain will reappear someday.






Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: banditpony on May 03, 2012, 06:01:29 PM
;3 mind blown by the last statement, that the stain remains.

Thanks for the explanation ~ 
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Mohawk on May 03, 2012, 07:56:29 PM
I can explain this. Hydrogen peroxide itself does not fade the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and it is this oxygen that fades the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen over time. Heat and sun will break it down faster. So when you shine sunlight on peroxide, oxygen is created quicker, and as a result, ponies fade faster (more oxygen more fade). Sunlight does not make hydrogen peroxide fade better, only faster (not counting the fact that sunlight itself fades ponies through a completely different process).


Something that might blow a few peoples minds is that any stain faded by hydrogen peroxide can be reversed with various chemicals. You are not removing the stain with hydrogen peroxide you are only making the color molecule transparent - the stain is actually still there. It is also possible that exposure to the air will do the same and the stain will reappear someday.


Very, very interesting. Thanks!


;3 mind blown by the last statement, that the stain remains.

"The Stain Remains" sounds like a terrible breakup song. ;)
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: hathorcat on May 04, 2012, 01:48:30 AM
(Or has anyone already tried this and can debunk my hypothesis with firm evidence right now? Because I'd totally accept that.)



I can explain this. Hydrogen peroxide itself does not fade the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and it is this oxygen that fades the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen over time. Heat and sun will break it down faster. So when you shine sunlight on peroxide, oxygen is created quicker, and as a result, ponies fade faster (more oxygen more fade). Sunlight does not make hydrogen peroxide fade better, only faster (not counting the fact that sunlight itself fades ponies through a completely different process).


Something that might blow a few peoples minds is that any stain faded by hydrogen peroxide can be reversed with various chemicals. You are not removing the stain with hydrogen peroxide you are only making the color molecule transparent - the stain is actually still there. It is also possible that exposure to the air will do the same and the stain will reappear someday.


Now thats interesting...and the paragraph at the end makes sense when you look at previous conversations we have all had on this and the speculation as to why marks come back. Thank you for the information!
Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: butterflybuttons on May 04, 2012, 04:04:58 AM
Well said!

I'll also add that it's the heat part of the sun that activates the peroxide. So a hot room or heater can help it go along faster. Once it breaks down to water, it is basically ineffective.

(Or has anyone already tried this and can debunk my hypothesis with firm evidence right now? Because I'd totally accept that.)



I can explain this. Hydrogen peroxide itself does not fade the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen and it is this oxygen that fades the pony. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into oxygen over time. Heat and sun will break it down faster. So when you shine sunlight on peroxide, oxygen is created quicker, and as a result, ponies fade faster (more oxygen more fade). Sunlight does not make hydrogen peroxide fade better, only faster (not counting the fact that sunlight itself fades ponies through a completely different process).


Something that might blow a few peoples minds is that any stain faded by hydrogen peroxide can be reversed with various chemicals. You are not removing the stain with hydrogen peroxide you are only making the color molecule transparent - the stain is actually still there. It is also possible that exposure to the air will do the same and the stain will reappear someday.







Title: Re: I hereby challenge the needfulness of "peroxide fading"
Post by: Mohawk on May 04, 2012, 05:36:45 AM
Ok, so if we can assume this new information is true:

1. Peroxide fading is more akin to a coverup than an actual fix that
2. often turns out to be temporary anyway, and
3. can sometimes damage hair or harden bodies

Three strikes! And now I'm glad I've never done it, because for me that's reason enough never to do it at all. I've personally lost interest in experimenting with it now, though if anyone goes ahead with some version of the experiment(s) proposed earlier in the thread, that could still be really interesting and valuable info for the community. (Especially for people who don't count #1 as a real strike.) Giving people more to go on when deciding how to take care of their ponies is always a worthy cause!

I plan on going ahead with a comparison of dry sunfading vs. water bath sunfading, if these ponies coming to me in the mail seem like decent victims subjects.

Anyone else changing their plans?
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