Restoring Twinkle Eyes?

[Rachel-Eyes]

So last night, my package came in the mail. Whoop whoop!

They are primarily TEs and I know nothing about them, since they are the first ponies I've ever had with that characteristic. They need a bit of some TLC, so I just wanted to check with more experienced peoples about what would be safest.

First of all, would it by chance harm their eyes if I were to wash the pony with soap and water? I open up all of my ponies, especially G1, and some of them are showing signs of rust. I wanted to make sure that they aren't all icky inside, but I don't know how the eyes are secured. Would it hurt the eyes if I lightly scrubbed inside (or outside) the head gently with a toothbrush? Would toothpaste, Dawn dishsoap, or hair conditioner hurt the eyes at all?

Also, I have a Sky Rocket who's eyes have lost their twinkle. Is there a way that I could possibly restore the tarnish? They look pretty scratched up.

Aaaaand sunfading. Would I have to cover the eyes with foil? Is there any risk to leaving them out? Because Gingerbread has turned sort of a musty color and I know I can make her white again with a little effort. =p I'm going to try lightening Sweet Stuff too since her head has discolored.

[Chi]

Basic cleaning with soap, water, shampoo, conditioner, etc. shouldn't harm the pony at all. Just be very careful when cleaning around the eyes with the toothbrush bristles. ^_^
However, sunfading TEs without covering the eyes can completely drain the colour from them, leaving them clear. So yes, I'd cover them!
As for restoring the shine, I can't really help you there. I know there are paints that look simular but I haven't seen any results from it myself.

[Rachel-Eyes]

I know I remember someone recommending some kind of crushed pearl gloss as a way to restore pearlized ponies. (Like the baby sea ponies, or the MO babies.) Does anyone know if this would work on TEs?

Thanks for the info, Chi. I'll be sure to be as careful as I can as soon as I get around to cleaning them.

[butterflybuttons]

Pearlised paint has a different look to it. Iridescent paint is what you need for the shine, but I've yet to find one that is as transparent as the original.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I have yet to find anything that produces a similar sheen on Twinkle eyes to the original. Scrubbing from the inside should be just fine, go wild.  The "shine" is applied to the outside of the eye, and there's a socket of plastic inside the head. 

[mlp4me]

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Good 'ol TP over the eyes didn't damage the coating...

I don't know if Gingerbread will burn! Depending on the type of degrading of the plastic she may get a tan...

(This gal has black and red marks that did not fade away, if she was cancerous I wouldn't put her in the window.)

[Rachel-Eyes]

Most of them do have a few cancer spots, so maybe I'll just tough it out.

I thought cancer would fade though? I have a Glory that's been sitting in the window for about two months with cancer on her forehead and some strange deposits around her horn. (She had to have been a bath toy at one point. She was also rusty and has the same kind of frizz as a sea pony.) Should I take her out if she risks burning? The window has a huge shade above it and some bushes in the front yard which do sort of absorb some of the shock of the sun, so nothing so far and I'm not too concerned.

Forgive my ignorance again, but if the eyes are supported by plastic behind the head, like a glass-eyed fakie, would it be possible to pop the eyes out and then pop them back in?

[mlp4me]

I have tried to pop the eyes out of my baity Masquerade. It damages how they look from the outside, I don't know how to describe it, but they do not look crystal clear anymore.

As for sunfading, it's tricky, Glory may lighten up in general; if you don't have super feelings for her you could try a peroxide/sun bath to see if she lightens up-she is common enough. I have had luck with peroxide/sunfading a very yellowed Majesty. However I had to re-do her glitter symbols and she was a re-root anyway.

Your other TE's with cancerish brown spots  may or may not fade out. I've yet to have any cancer sunfade or even remotely lighten up when I've tried sunfading.

[Baby Sugarberry]

One of the problems with cancer/age spots is that we still don't know what the cause is, and likely there is more than one cause presenting similar symptoms.  Sun fading should always be done at your own risk.  I've never heard of a Gingerbread burning in the sun, thus far.


I'd guess the reason why removing twinkle eyes and reinserting makes them look different is that they were glued down at the back?  That would make them look more opaque when the glue bond was broken, or perhaps there is a coating on the back side as well.

[Rachel-Eyes]

Ah, I see.

I've considered peroxiding poor Glory because her symbols are a bit ruined anyway. Giant rust spots cover both sides, so I figured I would just redo the symbol someday anyway.

Thanks for the advice so far, guys. I've only ever washed and rehaired before, so things like sunfading and peroxide are still a bit new to me. I know I can do it though.

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[mlp4me]

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Here's Majesty... She was rusty inside too. I kept her in that glass container and put tin foil under it. She was put outside in direct sunlight for 2 weeks. She came out much whiter...

[saply]

I know nail polish is a big no-no when it comes to painting pony bodies, but how well do you think something like this would work on the hard plastic of twinkle eyes?

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[Chi]

I've thought of that. They sell really lightly coloured nailpolish that has the simular shine of twinkle eyes. If applied in a light coat, it might work but I don't really have a baity TE to try it on.   Might be one of those "better in theory" type of things, or it could work!

[Vampasaurus]

I've tried using nail polish similar to this to fix up one of my glossy pokemon figures. After a few years the coating got sticky and picked up a lot of dust I can't really get off. I don't recommend nail polish for toy restoration because of that.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Do not use nail polish. It has the tendency to get tacky (as Vampasaurus pointed out)  plus the colors and chemicals are unstable, and quite prone to leaking into adjacent pony plastic.  Nail polish also tends to be thick, where the original coating is extremely thin.