Sticky pony question

[DemureGirl]

Hi all

I bought a bundle of ponies a while ago in various conditions, but there is one pony in particular that I have not yet touched.
She is a beautiful conditioned Parasol, her symbols are spotless and she has no horrible marks on her... however, it looks like there may be trouble going on inside.

To start with, her hair is sticky. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, washing it clears that right up, up at the roots there is this gross brown stuff coming through. She does not appear to have tail rust, but it is hard to tell. Also, when you shake her she rattles. Not a loud rattle like a loose washer, but a much softer rattle. I has me too afraid to open her up for fear of what I would find! 
Anyone know what could be lurking inside her?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Ohhhhh you need to take the head off the pony, soak her in warm water and dish soap and gently scrub at her insides with a toothbrush or bottle brush.  There will be a metal clamp and a washer holding her tail - they are rusted and you can scrub with toothpaste.  Lay everything to dry completely.  Get a zip tie for replacing the washer. 

There are lots of tutorials on the Arena to help with this! 

The stickiness is caused by a permanent breakdown as the plasticizer (what makes it soft) chemically separates from the PVC.  Wipe it down occasionally with a baby wipe or use dish soap to clean it off.   It will return after a few months and you'll need to treat again. 

Part of the game when collecting 30 year old vinyl! 

We'd love to see pictures when you're done cleaning - or even if you need help!

[Ivy]

softer rattle is probably a disintegrated tail washer - she'll be full of rust inside I bet. Head must come off.

[Stiletto]

oooo I wanna see pictures of what is actually inside her!  Possibly clumps of mold or pieces of her washer.

[DemureGirl]

Lol, ok. When I go home off comes her head (with a camera at the ready!)

[hathorcat]

Have fun! Nothing more fulfilling then finding the problem and curing it!

As the ladies have mentioned it sounds like the washer has broken apart and she is chock a block full of rust. She may not have tail rust as you mention because its always possible it is only the washer which is rusted and that the washer broke off before it rusted. But if she is so terrible inside I would expect something on the her tail even if its just at the clamp.

The stickiness could glued up rust coming out of her hair or it could be a plasticiser breakdown. The key is to remove the rust and see if that fixes the stickiness; if it doesnt then you ll need to wipe her down repeatedly until all the plasticiser has gone.

Cant wait to see before and after pics.

[DemureGirl]

Thankfully it is just her mane that is sticky. So far I have been lucky enough not to encounter a pony with plasticiser breakdown, I clearly need to buy more ponies

[hathorcat]

If its just her mane that's sticky are you sure its not perhaps residue of something someone has used to clean or treat her hair? I have come across greasy haired ponies in the past when people havent washed out shampoo properly - its much more tricky to properly rinse soap from nylon than real hair so sometimes its easy to do this.