How do I see the difference between dangerous defects and cosmetic?

[Peppermint Pie]

I have recently started collecting MLP G1:s and I buy them online and I can see that some of the ponies have small black dots or other defects. How do I know which ones are dangerous and which ones are cosmetic? 

[Elisto]

What do you mean by "dangerous"?

[Strawberry Swirl]

What do you mean by "dangerous"?

I think they might be talking about like, mold and stuff. 

[Peppermint Pie]

With dangerous I mean defects that are gonna be worse as time goes by compared to cosmetic ones that won't change with time.

[Mirnyj]

Regrind and age spots are conditions that usually get worse as years go by because they are caused by plastic breakdown. Rust and mold are also things that can hurt a pony over time but gladly those two are easily treatable. Ingrained dirt, also known as pindot, is merely a cosmetic defect, although plastic pores that pindot has been removed from can gather dirt again. Take a look at mlppreservationproject.com, there is loads of info about pony restoration and various conditions at ponies can have.

[Peppermint Pie]

Thank you, Mirnyj!!

[Mermaid]

I think the only dangerous condition a pony can have is tail rust or dirt and grime. This is because as time goes on, the rust or grine can stain the plastic.

If a pony has mold on it, it'll be fresh. As mold is living, and needs organic components AND moisture to thrive, a pony suffering from mold would have a recent growth of mold, not something from 20 years ago. You will know mold when you see it! In all my years of collecting, I have yet to see an actually moldy pony! I think dirt and grine are often mistaken for mold.

Hope this helps!

[LittleSpiffy]

I think the only dangerous condition a pony can have is tail rust or dirt and grime. This is because as time goes on, the rust or grine can stain the plastic.

If a pony has mold on it, it'll be fresh. As mold is living, and needs organic components AND moisture to thrive, a pony suffering from mold would have a recent growth of mold, not something from 20 years ago. You will know mold when you see it! In all my years of collecting, I have yet to see an actually moldy pony! I think dirt and grine are often mistaken for mold.

Hope this helps!

Not necessarily

Black mold (Cladosporium mainly - the stuff that grows in your bathtub and may be referred to as mildew, but is really mold) will linger inside a pony.  It can be dead for years, but still sticks on the inside of bodies and can be a pain to clean. 

In my experience, Sea Ponies are the worst because they were meant for hours of bathtime fun!  But any pony that has spent hours in a bathtub and not properly drained usually grew the stuff (I just spent hours scrubbing out a TAF Sugarberry).

[hathorcat]

Unfortunately the thing you have to remember is that we are collecting 30+ year old plastic that was not designed to last longer or be played with for more than a few years. This means that vinyl breakdown is going to happen on any soft plastic. All we can do is ensure ponies are kept in conditions that are the most suitable for them without over exposure to too much light, temperature fluctuations or humidity.

As has been mentioned age marks and regrind are the main issues that are untreatable and can (but its not guaranteed they will) spread across a pony. Most other things are manageable or treatable.