Deflock or no?

[reanna-mator]

Okay, so recently I bought a "bait box" of ponies, and in them were SS Cherries Jubilee and Hippity Hop.


Cherries' flocking is really flat and matted in places, and there's blue marker on some areas of it. It's pretty worn, especially around her face.
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Hippity Hop is really worn down in the usual places, especially the hooves and ears. It's also become opaque, especially on her face and around her symbols.

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Here's the kicker: I've had SS Twilight for a little while, and the glue on her flocking has become yellowed, so she looks a grayish-yellow. Rubbing to the flocking isn't that bad, but I can't help but feel she'd look so much lovelier without all that yellowed flocking. What do you think?

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[scarletjul]

As much as I love so softs (they're really one of my favorite sets,) I'd say deflock Cherries Jubilee and Hippity Hop - they look like they need it and I'm sure they'd look lovely without the worn down flocking.

I'm a little more hesitant with Twilight only because she's a little rare.  Mine has a little yellowing around the neck seam but most of her flocking in fine and I would never deflock her because she's in decent shape.  Yours looks a little worse than mine so I'd say it's a judgement call.  If you think she'd look better without it, then go for it! 

[Sugar]

If you're basing it just on aesthetics, I'd deflock the three of them.  When the flocking starts to get discoloured, either because of the aging glue or just age in general, it's time to give the So Softs their, oh, how is it FarDreamer put it on her site?

brightly colored very pretty second life

Yeah, that's it!    Anyway, I did so to the Truly and Satin'n'Lace I found at my local thrift shop, and I'm doing the same to a Paradise a friend sold me, and they're so pretty under all that mange... 

But if it's preservation of value...  I remember reading that value of deflocked ponies can vary, but I can't find the post with the info...

[Elisto]

Most of what I've read previously seems to suggest that for most collectors, value-wise, it wouldn't hurt to deflock for most cases. However, I'm personally one of the ones who never deflocks no matter how bad, so yeah, there is some variability there.

Can flocking/glue be sunfaded?

[reanna-mator]

Most of what I've read previously seems to suggest that for most collectors, value-wise, it wouldn't hurt to deflock for most cases. However, I'm personally one of the ones who never deflocks no matter how bad, so yeah, there is some variability there.

Can flocking/glue be sunfaded?

Good question! I'd have to be extra careful of Twilight's pink hair though. Her mane is quite faded but her tail still has a lot of pink left in it.

But yeah, So Softs have grown on me (I've got a Magic Star and Lofty who are nearly PERFECT), but the first two really could stand do shed that dirty fuzz. But Cherries Jubilee and Hippity Hop have other flaws as well (Cherries' shorn front locks and Hippity Hop's faded, rusty hair), where Twilight is very nice, uncut hair that is still somewhat pink.

Perhaps I'll do the two of them (carefully) as practice and that will give me some time to decide on Twilight. I know she's much rarer and I'm really on the fence about her. I saw a deflocked Twilight once and she was so stunning.

[Elisto]

Well, I have two that I just put in the window myself, so I don't mind testing it with my ponies if you don't want use yours as subjects.

[sillymoosey]

I'm always 100% in favour of deflocking! Never liked the So Softs as a child (when they first came out in stores, I basically stopped asking my parents for ponies). Discovering that the flocking can be removed has been a revelation for me! I would personally pay more money for a properly deflocked So Soft than I would for a So Soft with perfect flocking And just to give you the courage and motivation to go ahead with it, here's a picture of a pony that I deflocked myself:

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And a "before" picture for comparison...

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I realize that she doesn't actually look like she needed deflocking but her flocking actually fell off in clumps when I tried to clean her so I didn't really have a choice but to finish the job.

[reanna-mator]

Yeah, my Magic Star and Lofty are almost flawless; I wouldn't dare deflock them, but the ones I pictured above really do need it. I've just started in on Cherries Jubilee and it's a little bit sad how easy the flocking comes off, almost as if it's already resigned itself to coming off. But she looks SO much better without it.

[StarDragon]

I tend to be on the fence too with flocking. when I started collecting I hated the flocked ponies, but after finding my first SS (thrifting) i decided they were actually really cute. I agree that once flocking begins to look like some gross fuzzy caccoon then it's time to deflock. Like, rubs everywhere, uneven mess, yellowing....

I think SS Twilight will still be pretty valuable deflocked if it is done really well and smoothly. After all, there was never any other version of her released and she looks really beautiful being able to see that symbol and gorgeous deep purple color.

[DancingPhoenix]

I would deflock all three. Twilight is harder to find, but like others have said aesthetic wise she would look so much more colorful and beautiful without the yellowed flocking. You could also go so far as others have done with deflocked ponies and give them a new fun rehair! They'll be given a new life and be unique

[Oneleo1]

A deflocked Twilight in nice shape can fetch just as much as a NM Twilight can!

In all honesty, if the pony was never offered in the unflocked form (Twilight being one of those), the deflocked version can fetch just as much as the NM flocked version in most cases.

[scarlettkitty81]

I say go for the deflocking option. I loooove deflocks and I think you will be happier with the results

[Oneleo1]

I think the last deflock I did I sold for near what a NM one would have run I can't remember who it was though....maybe Angel? Or SS Paradise?

[hathorcat]

A deflocked Twilight in nice shape can fetch just as much as a NM Twilight can!

In all honesty, if the pony was never offered in the unflocked form (Twilight being one of those), the deflocked version can fetch just as much as the NM flocked version in most cases.

^This - I completely agree with OL1 - deflocking on a pony which was never in NSS version doesnt [oddly] devalue.

Personally I dont quite understand deflocking ponies which have easy to find NSS versions - Surprise, Cherries, Posey, etc but thats a personal opinion and more just laziness at the thought of deflocking something which I can purchase without her flocking

Its your call of course and I would say you wouldnt manage to sell any of them on in minty or even near minty condition so there is no harm in removing the flocking which remains.

And no you cant sun fade glue unfortunately - its the glue itself which has yellowed its not a surface stain on the glue which can be bleached out. 

[LadyMoondancer]

Like HathorCat, I don't see much point in deflocking Cherries Jubilee, because she already has a NSS version.  She doesn't really look any different, AFAIK.

For the other two--have you tried the cleaning method of soaping them up and then putting them under a high pressure water source?  The higher the pressure the better.  I had the dirtiest SS Bangles you can imagine--you couldn't see her symbol at all before washing--and she looked MINT after that treatment.

I don't like So-Softs either, though.  Even as a kid.   Ponies do look better deflocked.