Ew, yuck! White gunk on My Pretty Pony's eyes!

[kellyponyfeathers]

I just got a complete (brown) My Pretty Pony; she looked NM in the auction pics.  But when she arrived, she had a bunch of white gunk on her eyes; it looked like white-out or dried toothpaste!  I don't think it was applied on purpose because the eyelashes weren't covered.  Maybe it was some kind of rust?  I got most of it off with some careful scrubbing, but there was a bit in the corners that I couldn't reach.  I'm wondering if this is a common problem for My Pretty Pony.

[MiRaja]

It's not something someone applied.  It's plastic break down, but you can remove it with a little washing.  I don't know the exact chemical process, but it's something leeched out in the plastic.  A lot of 60's-80's dolls get the crap iin their eyes too.  Best idea is after washing them, blow dry them with a hair dryer.  It's something to do with moisture.

[Teddy]

Yep, that seems to be fairly common with the My Pretty Ponies. The one I had years ago had the same issue when I found her at a fleamarket. I just scrubbed it all off and he eyes were fine underneath. ^-^

[hathorcat]

I had something similar with a doll which had the same type of eye mechanism; was it possible to flick/crumble some of it off with just a gently applied soft sponge? I think I have seen Pretty Ponies with something similar as well - I certainly have seen a kind of white crusting on the eye(s) and eye creases of a couple of Pretty Ponies which I have assumed is the same type of gunk as I found on the doll. I would guess its perhaps something to do with the breaking down of chemicals applied to the mechanism or to the eye surface; a bit like how glue can discolour to any shade from white to yellow over time.

[mlp4me]

Yep, the my pretty pony that I got for x-mas had it on her left eye. I was glad that it wiped right off.

[MiRaja]

Also, it'll likely return everytime she's put away in a box or such.  You'll just have to keep retreating.  It has something to do with moisture and circulated air.  I've had several dolls like this.  Cleaned them up and down and bottom with everything, put them away in storage, take them out, and BAM, it's back!

[YellowCat]

That's eye mold.  It attacks that plastic and glue used in doll eyes and sadly, in my experience it's nearly impossible to get rid of.  I've heard a lot of people suggest rubbing alcohol to get rid of it, but it always comes back and eventually with dolls that have weighted sleep eyes you get eye rust with repeated treatments.

I have a vintage squeaky toy with sleepy eyes that has the same problem and I'm going to replace its eyes as soon as I can figure out what size I need to get.