G1 Restoration - Bow Tie

[ApertureScience]

Some of you may remember my post about buying my first G1 in the Pony Corral where I said I bought a baity Bow Tie and planned to restore her.  Well, I've done it finally.

Before:

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As you can see, major eye rub; some marks; tail rust; and dirty, mangled hair.

After:

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But oh dear God, the symbols!  They look awful!  I tried so hard to preserve the originals but the acetone got them anyway and I had to repaint them, and they look simply horrid!  Someone, please give me advice on how to fix them, even if the advice is to just take them off and make her an eternal blank flank!

[Cupc4k3]

She looks like a brand new pony, I love the job you did restoring her!

[PinkRosedust]

Her symbols looked okay before, so I'm curious as to why you used acetone on them. Also her hair probably could have been washed and come out fine. She originally came with short hair. ;D When G1s do have that short hair it often may look awful but a quick wash and combing can make them look like new! It's amazing! It's lovely that you tried to restore her rather than bait her. =) She's such a cutie.

[rybett]

Personally, her symbols remind me of cheerleaders with pom poms.  Your repaint does the same, but much cuter.  I like!

[ApertureScience]

Her symbols looked okay before, so I'm curious as to why you used acetone on them. Also her hair probably could have been washed and come out fine. She originally came with short hair. ;D When G1s do have that short hair it often may look awful but a quick wash and combing can make them look like new! It's amazing! It's lovely that you tried to restore her rather than bait her. =) She's such a cutie.

I couldn't bait my first G1.

It was that pen mark in her symbols.  I tried to sunfade but it wasn't working; it could've been the place I put her, or the way I went about it; either way, it didn't work.  So I tried acetone again.  The one on her neck came off, so I tried the one in her symbols and tried my best to keep them safe.  When I picked up the applicator though, one of the symbols had been rubbed clean off.  So I took them all off and decided to start over.  They suck though; one side is bigger than the other and they don't even look like bow ties.  My hands wouldn't stop shaking for anything, especially on the bottom parts.

As for the hair, I don't know why but it just felt so bad I was wondering if it could be fixed.  So I just to the hair out.  But rehairing her was difficult sometimes because a couple of the holes in her head were damaged and ran together as more of a gash.  And as for the longer hair, I was afraid I'd accidentally cut it too short, so I kept some length on as an allowance for sloppiness.

I'm surprised that you guys are being so nice about the obvious sloppiness and ugliness of the symbols.  But, thank you!

[pop-girl]

I'd just keep her as is.
No one's first attempt is perfect and she's adorable. As you improve you might decided to try the symbols again or you might leave her alone as a reminder of how far you've come.

No matter what you decide she is your first restoration/custom and should be treasured.

[rybett]

Uniqueness is the word. Painting skill takes time.  Goodness knows I haven't got much of it.     As for the hair, I take mine to work and let one of the hair stylists trim it.  Or, I have wrapped it around the neck/leg like I was going to curl it, then trim.  KWIM?   

[Griffin]

She looks very cute! At least she's a common pony, so it's not the end of the world if you made a few mistakes in the process (mainly referring to acetone on the symbols - customizers use the stuff for taking off the original symbol & eye paint ), and surely it was a great learning experience. The eye repaint makes her look so much happier, and I really like the new, longer hair! Even if the old hair did look restoreable.

As for fixing her symbols, my only suggestion is to practice and practice. Try painting the symbols on paper first, just to get the hang of it. If you feel it's easier to paint inside lines, you could try tracing: draw one bowtie on a baking sheet paper or similar in pencil, flip and transfer it on the pony. Repeat until you have pencil lines for all the symbols, then paint. I'm not sure how well it works on an unpainted pony, though, especially one that dark, I've only ever used this method on customs with FBRs... but it's worth trying. Good luck! 

[Colorscapesart]

She is lovely!  You should be proud!  All of that time and hard work make for a very happy Bow Tie.

[ApertureScience]

I'd just keep her as is.
No one's first attempt is perfect and she's adorable. As you improve you might decided to try the symbols again or you might leave her alone as a reminder of how far you've come.

No matter what you decide she is your first restoration/custom and should be treasured.

I appreciate that, but she isn't my first custom/restoration period, she's just my first restored G1.  I'll admit though, it was different from the smaller-bodied G2s and G4s I've worked with before.  I felt like since her flank was bigger, I had to make the symbols bigger, and that didn't quite work...

Uniqueness is the word. Painting skill takes time.  Goodness knows I haven't got much of it.      As for the hair, I take mine to work and let one of the hair stylists trim it.  Or, I have wrapped it around the neck/leg like I was going to curl it, then trim.  KWIM?

Yeah, I guess I could try that.  Actually, I am starting to feel bad about leaving her hair long. *sigh* Wish me luck.  I'm going to cut it short.

As for fixing her symbols, my only suggestion is to practice and practice. Try painting the symbols on paper first, just to get the hang of it. If you feel it's easier to paint inside lines, you could try tracing: draw one bowtie on a baking sheet paper or similar in pencil, flip and transfer it on the pony. Repeat until you have pencil lines for all the symbols, then paint. I'm not sure how well it works on an unpainted pony, though, especially one that dark, I've only ever used this method on customs with FBRs... but it's worth trying. Good luck!

That's an awesome idea!  I may do that if I can't get any better on my own...

[rybett]

The pencil idea worked well for me on a white unpainted one and a black painted one.  A bit hard to see on the black one, bit it was a simple design.  For BT, I bet it would work well.  I wonder why the symbols came up completely.  I tried to acetone a Peachy, still had ghost marks.

[jupiternwndrlnd]

she looks happy with her new hair