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Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: RoseNoire on November 20, 2017, 02:49:56 AM

Title: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: RoseNoire on November 20, 2017, 02:49:56 AM: Hello everyone !

A friend of mine just gave me her childhood ponies, thinking they were fakies I intended to custom, I discovered she had a Twinkle Eyed pony (Whizzer) and a Rainbow pony (Moonstone). I am so happy right now even though they are in really bad shape. (Dirty, probably rusty, mane cut off, "makeup" with sharpies,...) I really want to bring their honor back, I need your help !

Well, Moonstone is the easy one, just have to clean her up, remove the stains, maybe sunfade, scrub the rust off the inside and make her mane better looking even though it'll be short.

But Whizzer is the most important and delicate. She is as dirty as Moonstone, but since she is a Twinkle Eyed pony, she needs special treatment I don't know. That's where I need your help. Tell me all I have to know to restore a Twinkle Eyed properly. Her eyes are already damaged on the front face of her gems. What should I do to repair her eyes properly so she doesn't have that weird looking white spot ? Also, she is really hard, so I know she's not like the others. I will have to apply a good amount of heat to pop her head out, I guess. What chemicals am I allowed to use on her without ruining her eyes ?

How do I remove my pony's heads properly ? They are so hard sometimes it looks like their head and body is just fused together. I damaged enough pony necks, I need to know how to do it the right way. T-T

So, yeah, I'm so happy to have them, it is such a surprise, I really want to restore them the best way possible ! Send Help !

Photos below :
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Have a nice day, thank you so much for your help ! :frolic::hope:
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her !
Post by: Mlp Sunsparkle on November 20, 2017, 04:40:42 AM: Hi!
Unfortunately I don't think there's a way to restore scuffed twinkle eyes :(
If she's like a rock then her plasticiser has probably leached out, which is fairly common with the twinkle eyes.

As for head removal, being rock solid will make it harder, and hopefully others have some suggestions for you, as I have only removed already partially loose heads. You could try warming her up with a hairdryer not too close to paint or a hot water bottle to make her squishy, but I don't know how well that would work.

As for chemicals, I would reccomend avoiding using them on with twinkle eyes, as the coating can be removed easily by them. For dirt, a magic eraser is the best option (just go careful on painted areas), as it contains no chemicals. You could also use soap or washing up liquid if you cant get hold of one :)

I hope this was at least a bit helpful for you, and I'm sure some restoration experts will be along soon :)
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 05:28:06 AM: You may have to find replacement sequins
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: RoseNoire on November 20, 2017, 05:45:21 AM: Okay, where do I find find them ? Are they an exact match ? How do I make the replacement properly ? I have so many questions. I don't have any baits, I can't mess this up. :lol:
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 06:15:49 AM: I've never replaced them myself. But they are or at least appear to be fake-jewel sequins like you would find at a craft store.
If they're just glued to the surface you should be able to pry them off bt working carefully with a fine sharp blade.
A fine sharp blade would also probably be helpful in getting the head off - it's my experience that G1 heads actually are fused to the body in one or two spots. Just be very careful and don't poke the blade in any farther than necessary.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: tailrustedtealeaf on November 20, 2017, 07:24:39 AM: http://www.aikarin.com/mlp/customs/customfaq.html (http://www.aikarin.com/mlp/customs/customfaq.html)
Ctrl+F and type in "Twinkle Eye" or just scroll down!
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 07:52:06 AM: Wow was I wrong about the eyes
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Safflower on November 20, 2017, 08:11:31 AM: To take her head off, just heat it up using hot water. She is hard because her plasticizer has leaked out. It should soften the vinyl anyway. If there are any spots already unsealed, stick a butter knife in and try to go around the head and break the seal. To get rid of dirt, you can use a magic eraser. Don't scrub on the paint too hard though. To touch up here eyes, you could use some pearlescent coating on the part that is scuffed. I don't really know how though, I haven't tried it myself. As for which chemicals you can use, don't use OxiClean or hydrogen peroxide (OxiClean contains hydrogen peroxide.)
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Shy Violet on November 20, 2017, 10:11:38 AM: Before you even think about the eyes I would wash her in warm water with dish soap and a tooth brush and shampoo and condition her hair. That should get the dirt off and then you can better assess what she needs done. I use acetone on a q-tip to get stubborn marks off but don't use it by eyes or symbols. Magic eraser is also a good suggestion.

Does she actually have rust in her? If she doesn't then I wouldn't bother opening her up. If she does then you'll want to put her in hot water to soften the neck joint and gently pry it apart. You may have to re-submerge her several times to heat it back up as you go. Don't cut the join but do use a butter knife to help gently separate the neck.

Her eyes are not bad, I wouldn't replace them. I've never done it but I hear that you can't get the exact same size gem so they'll always look off. I think Twinkle Eyes look just fine with some scratches and rubs.

As others have said, don't use Oxyclean because it will remove the finish on her eyes and it can also remove glitter symbols. It also dries out hair so I only use it on baity ponies.

Hope that helps.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Leave a Whisper on November 20, 2017, 11:03:12 AM: http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/index.html

When in doubt, I often turn to this site. It has lots of helpful tutorials.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: LadyMoondancer on November 20, 2017, 11:15:00 AM: I really wouldn't suggest replacing her eyes. It would be a huge pain in the butt and would require major surgery. The real gems have a special shape that allows them to sit securely in the sockets. You won't find craft gems like that. Replacing eyes on TEs isn't something most people do, even if they're scuffed.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Leave a Whisper on November 20, 2017, 11:16:17 AM: I wouldn't suggest it either.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: RoseNoire on November 20, 2017, 01:35:35 PM: Hello everyone, thank you so much for your advice, they were quite helpful, thanks for all your links.:hope:
Well, it took me about one and a half hour to clean them both, they look better with their mane done and all that dirt cleaned off. I guess they will stay as they are now. Some dirt spots stay here and there. Their "makeup" didn't go 100% away but it's better. I might have to sunfade, but I have zero experience with sunfading. I don't want to mess this up.
I am really happy to have a TE. They look like like aliens with those bug eyes. :lol: But I don't mind at all, they look funny. :biggrin:

Photos of them after their bath :
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Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on November 20, 2017, 01:39:03 PM: Third-ing don't replace the eyes. It's a very difficult thing to get right, and they're really not that bad.
Sunfading is the only likely option for taking out those makeup stains. They're in the plastic itself.

You've got what looks to be the Italian Moonstone there, which is a bit rarer than the usual one.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: LadyMoondancer on November 20, 2017, 02:16:37 PM: Wow, they look so beautiful after their bath! <3
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Leave a Whisper on November 20, 2017, 02:19:19 PM: Simply wonderful! :lovey:
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: ZeldaTheSwordsman on November 20, 2017, 03:11:36 PM: Yes, beautiful
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: RoseNoire on November 21, 2017, 12:36:04 AM: Oh, thank you, that's so sweet, I wasn't expecting such enjoyment for their bath. It's not really much. :lol:
So, yeah, I will keep her eyes as they are, their mane too. They'll have to wait a very long time before I could rehair them.
Well, case closed I guess. I will post them in the restoration gallery. It's not much but we love pony pics so much. ^^
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: NightGliderSA on November 21, 2017, 12:58:01 AM: I love Whizzer's hairstyle actually :)

I have changed TE eyes, using the Aikarin tutorial. My fingers will never be the same again. It was very very difficult to do as the inside of the pony's head is a small place to work in. There is a groove that the eye must be fitted in to and I was lucky enough to find jewels that did fit. This amazed me as we normally seem to be at the bottom of the pile when it comes to pony restoration supplies.

However in your case I would not advise it at all. Your pony's plastic has hardened and you will not be able to get the eyes back in. The plastic needs a certain amount of 'give' in it for the operation to be a success. I think that you did a great job with them!
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: RoseNoire on November 21, 2017, 01:08:23 AM: Hi, glad you like it. ^^ Well, if everyone thinks her eyes are good enough, there's no reason to change them. Especially if they're so difficult to remove. At least she kept some iridescence.
Have a nice day, thanks for all your advice, they are helpful. ^^
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Leave a Whisper on November 21, 2017, 12:26:41 PM: Quote from: RoseNoire on November 21, 2017, 12:36:04 AM
Oh, thank you, that's so sweet, I wasn't expecting such enjoyment for their bath. It's not really much. :lol:
So, yeah, I will keep her eyes as they are, their mane too. They'll have to wait a very long time before I could rehair them.
Well, case closed I guess. I will post them in the restoration gallery. It's not much but we love pony pics so much. ^^

Oh yeah! Pony Spa Days are a blast. At least most of the time anyway. :)
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Tulips on November 21, 2017, 03:27:13 PM: If you want to touch her eyes up slightly I do have a suggestion. I've restored some glass eyes by very gently polishing them (using a nail buffer with a little water) and then coating them in nail polish. I've never done TE eyes, but this method with some iridescent nail polish would probably improve her appearance.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Baby Sugarberry on November 21, 2017, 04:54:49 PM: Buffing the front flat facet smooth again isn't out of the realm of possibility - you'd need some very, very fine sandpaper though, the kind for polishing polycarbonate or automotive clear coat. It'd also have to be done very carefully so as to not take out the remaining iridescence. I'd suggest painter's tape to mask over the area that isn't to be fixed, and while it seems feasible I've never tried this myself or heard of anyone who has, so proceed at your own risk!
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: MysticIceDragon on November 21, 2017, 06:28:25 PM: Whizzer's hair is adorable! Not a bad start to a collection.
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: achab1984 on November 21, 2017, 07:51:08 PM: I love that Moonstone!!! :) :inlove:
Title: Re: My first Twinkle Eyed pony, need advice restoring her ![Now with pics]
Post by: Sawkinator on November 23, 2017, 07:06:56 PM: Quote from: Tulips on November 21, 2017, 03:27:13 PM
If you want to touch her eyes up slightly I do have a suggestion. I've restored some glass eyes by very gently polishing them (using a nail buffer with a little water) and then coating them in nail polish. I've never done TE eyes, but this method with some iridescent nail polish would probably improve her appearance.

I really would not use nail polish anywhere on a pony - it reacts with the vinyl in the bodies, and would probably react with the hard plastic on the eyes, too. If you want to coat the eyes your best bet is something like Triple Thick.
Buffing is another good option, though. You can find wet/dry sandpaper at hardware stores in high grits (1000 and 2000). Craft/hobby stores might have even higher, but it's usually more expensive. I doubt you'd need anything like 8000 grit, anyways. :P

I guess one other thing you could try is interference paint: http://www.goldenpaints.com/products/colors/interference-iridescent-colors (http://www.goldenpaints.com/products/colors/interference-iridescent-colors). If it doesn't look good then at least you can remove it with alcohol without affecting the original coating. :)