New to restoring questions

[Asobi]

I hope this is the right place to post here. I've just started trying to clean up and restore my childhood ponies. They're mostly in what seems to me to be pretty decent shape. I have been cleaning them with magic erasers and that's helped a lot as a first step. I plan to try sun fading for my white ponies as they have yellowed quite a bit with age. I have a ton of questions though, if anyone can help, please.

First off, only one of my ponies so far (Majesty) appears to have "pony cancer" and quite a bit of it - at least 4 or 5 different spots. Is it worth trying to sun fade her with the others? Do I need to quarantine her or can I just keep them together in the same window?

As for hair, should I worry about fixing the hair after the sun fading, since it'll just be in foil anyway? I figure it's not worth trying to work on the hair until after, but I'm not sure. What is a good first step in dealing with hair without curls, can using regular shampoo and conditioner work? What about castile soap, is that safe?

Is there any chance that "highlighter" marks (pink) will go away with sun fading? Moondancer has a few of them around her belly, I believe in her case they're caused by accessories.

Lastly, I've noticed on my Gusty that the glittery symbol in spots has almost what appears to be "bumps" where the paint and glitter is raised a bit, is that just a factory defect or could something else have caused that?

Sorry about all the questions, I am brand new to this and I don't want to make any newbie mistakes and end up damaging my ponies. Thank you all so much for any help or tips!

[Artemesia's Garden]

It's bedtime here so I can't go into all of it but with sunfading be careful because some will go tan instead of white. I think Gingerbread is one but there are others. Majestys head but not the body will go brown.  There is a thread somewhere. I would wait and try MLP restoration project and read up more over here before doing more, especially don't get let water inside if the head is still glued on. Good luck

[Baby Sugarberry]

As Artemesia said, a number of the white ponies can burn/tan badly in the sun rather than improving - best to either list or show us who you're thinking of treating with UV and we'll be able to point out any potential problem gals.  Starshine, some Majesty's, Gingerbread, Cherry Treats, the two white adult Sea Ponies and a few others are the most well known for this problem. 

Age spots, more properly called vinyl deterioration, are NOT contagious.  There's no danger in storing affected ponies with unaffected ones.  It's caused by a breakdown in the plastic itself, the fire retardant chemicals, commonly bromide, breaking away from the other compounds and presenting as brownish spots or splotches.  Ponies stored in poor conditions - high moisture, unstable temperatures in particular, are more likely to develop these issues, but it does not jump from one toy to another. 

Bumpy symbols could be early symbol rust - the G1's used real metal in the glitter and over time it can rust and go brown/splotchy.  Avoiding high humidity storage and temperature swings (good advice for any collection) is about all that can be done for them. 

I'm not familiar with castile soap, but regular dish detergent / normal soap, shampoo and conditioner are all you need for almost all ponies.  Be careful with flocked ponies if you have any (they're fuzzy, with short fur all over) and only clean them gently in cold water, as hot water or harsh chemicals can loosen the fluff.  Be mindful of trying to keep water out of the inside of your ponies, unless you're opening them up or their heads are already loose.  There are some who like the more aggressive chemicals like Oxyclean, but be very careful as Oxy and stuff like it can strip off twinkle-eye shine and make chartreuse hair bleed dye. 

Sunfading will remove most pink marks quite successfully, ("saddle sores" or highlighter marks, they're commonly called, though not always from a marker) though how long it takes can depend on your geographical location and how much sun you get.  As you surmised, there's little point in trying to hairstyle ponies that have to undergo UV treatment, so best to get that over with first.

Good luck on your restorations, and make sure to take some before and after pics! 

[Asobi]

Thank you both so much, I wasn't aware sun fading could be dangerous for some ponies. I suppose I'll just not take the risk with Majesty. The other ones I was considering sun fading are Gusty and Moondancer. Are there any particular concerns with those two? I am going to cover the eyes/symbols/hair so that should be good. I'm thinking of using tissue paper rather than foil for the hair just in case.

I'm also glad to know the age spots won't transfer, I'm not sure how Majesty managed to develop so many but none of the other ponies stored in the same way have been spared, but I'm glad I can keep them all together.

Castile soap is made from olive oil and considered very mild compared to most other soaps and shampoos, I thought maybe it'd be good for giving a bit of shine back to the hair and maybe helping with frizz a bit compared to regular soaps that contain foaming agents that could possibly overly dry out the hair.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Haven't heard of Moondancer nor Gusty having any sunfading issues, though it's always wise to keep a close eye on them.  Tissue paper will not be effective in blocking UV - tin foil is a must.  Some have had success with temporarily masking eyes/symbols using white paint, though I haven't tried it myself - I'd be too worried about it not coming off cleaning afterwards.

Usually I skip the shampoo altogether - unless your ponies have been handled a ton or have leaching plasticizer, they shouldn't be greasy. Mild soaps of any kind should be just fine.  My general rule is "if I'd wash my face with it, it's usually safe for ponies".  There are exceptions, like alcohol, which can strip paint. 

As for age spots, some batches of plastic are more chemically stable than others - that's why certain ponies develop them seemingly no matter what, even if stored under ideal conditions.  It's likely nothing you did, just the effects of time.

[TwistedRiver]

I've not really heard one way or the other with Mommy Moondancer but I know Baby Moondancer can burn easily, I got a very sunburned baby in a lot a while back who unfortunately also had cancer, luckily I already have a nice condition one so she became a custom.

[hathorcat]

I would certainly give Moondancer a chance to sun fade - she is not known to burn and if those are simply pink stains and not some kind of plastic breakdown you should see some difference in her with time and exposure.

I always leave sorting hair out until after sun fading and other work that needs done to the body. When I sun fade I always coat the hair in vaseline (its a nice extra protection if you are going to end up with the hair wrapped up in tinfoil for an extra long time). It means you need extra work at the end to clean the hair up but you would have to do that anywhere.

And always ask as many questions about anything you like Thats what we are all here for - and we all have had to ask such things over the years

[Asobi]

Oooh, the vaseline is a good idea I'll definitely have to try that. I was worried the foil could damage the hair by overheating or something under direct sunlight. Leeching plasticizer I'm not sure about, is that what causes some ponies to be slightly 'sticky' cause I do have that issue unfortunately with some of the ponies and I'm not sure how to remedy it. It also seems to make the hair sort of sticky, as well, though I suppose it could be unrelated.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Yep, plasticizer leakage causes an overall sticky surface, and eventually a hard pony.  You can wash it off with soap and water, some use talcum powder too, but that's really just treating the symptom.  It always ends up with a no longer flexible body.