Off with their heads?

[Sugar]

Hello!

A quick question to those experienced with such things -

What's the best way to pop a pony's head off for cleaning?  I have a couple so-softs (Scrumptious and Wind Whistler) that look like they could do with a good scrub... I read that Oxiclean and a toothbrush work well, then rince and let dry.  I want to make sure that my girls don't developpe a bad case of mold inside whilst they're drying, so I thought I'd squiggle their heads off... but neither one seems to want to come off.  Is there a best way for, um, beheading ponies?  Gah, there isn't a good way to say that, is there? 

Thank you! 

[Shenanigans]

I've only taken off a few heads (sounds so weird ) and I used an exacto knife. But I've lost it somewhere so I took off my Bride Pony's head with a box cutter I'm surprised I didn't cut myself

[invaderhorizongreen]

I have taken off the heads of a few to give  them  new hair. First i soak them in a very warm oxyclean and water bath then i try to peel the head off. If that does not work i use a xacto knife very carefully making sure not to cut to deep. however be VERY VERY careful when taking the head off of a pony like baby paws i had the part in his head snap clean in two and fall out. I was lucky it was a clean break and i stuffed it back in his neck and glued it in place.  I don;'t know why the plastic becomes so brittle on some of them.

[kissthethunder]

I've taken the heads off of some of my ponies, but I've found if the heads don't want to come off, to leave them be. I had a so soft HIppity Hop as a kid, and she was filthy by the time I discovered how to clean her. You don't need to submerge a pony to clean them. You can hold the pony and do the gentle scrubbing and rinse when needed. gives you more control of where the watergoes

[HavACrumpet452]

Pull and twist and never use a sharp object, using a blunt butter knife once you get an open spot. Using a sharp object will make it look sliced up even when you put them back together. You can use plain warm water to help.

PS: Oxyclean will remove flocking off a so-soft pony.

[teresat]

I just posted this same question in the customs forum. I'm stalking for more ideas.

[Shenanigans]

I didn't know you could pull it or twist it off I got some instructions that said use exacto knife or something sharp to cut it off. Hopefully my pony's neck won't look jagged when I put her back together

[moondancer1]

I have cleaned so soft with out taking off thier heads.  I place them somewhere (near a heater in the winter but I have placed ponies in the sun for an afternoon to dry too) to be sure that they dry thoroughly.  I did not want to damage the flocking.  I just scrub them gently with a toothbrush.  I think I used laudry detergent on the flocking.  Pretty sure I have used Oxiclean too but did not soak them in it in hot water. 

[nhal039]

so you can just pull of with a bit of force, others like italians and uk ponies require some patients and work! I have a special tool I use that I stole of my husband, its like a sharp flat head screw driver, its also small I think the blade is no more than 3mm (I acutally have a choice of 3 ranging from 1.4-5 mm I checked). I use the  sharp each to cut through the glue and then the screwdriver is thin enough to go down the side of the neck to flick out the second ridge bit (I hope it makes sence).

All glue is different thou, usually american released ponies heads pop off with no use of a screw driver ; )
You can try using boiling water to soften the glue (not for so softs thou.. keep hot water well away) alternative I find the cold works just as well cause the glue kind of breaks off

I would love to post pics for you but my computers memory is to full so I cant upload pics ; (

Best of luck
xx

[michelle53]

Wait!  Oxyclean will remove flocking on So Softs!!!  I have a SS Posey who had the nastiest flocking and an Oxyclean bath pulled most of it off.  If you want to preserve their flocking, then I'm sure there are other methods.  I just figured I'd let you know:)

[hathorcat]

As others have said dont use oxy on your so soft - it will remove the flocking...really warm water can even remove flocking sometimes so when you are cleaning them be careful. You could try bicarb or toothpaste with the toothbrush and dont use overly warm water.

You can certainly use something like an exacto knife but I would initially recommend heat to remove a pony head - normally I would say run the neck under super hot water but thats silly with a so soft so instead put your hair dryer on as hot as possible and focus it in the neck seam [keep the pony hair out of the way of course ] - the goal is to melt the glue so that you can twist the ponies head and loosen it so eventually the head "peels" away from the body.

[Elisto]

I find getting the heads of So Softs can be difficult if you're trying to preserved the flocking. If the head is still glued tight, maybe you can try to just clean the outside without submerging the whole pony? You can also position the pony so her tail is pointed down and let any water drain out like that while she dries. I'm not sure if that's 100% effective at drying the inside, but it does help.

[Sugar]

Thank you everyone! 

So much to learn about keeping ponies in good tick... But I'm glad I'm in the right place to find out how!