Cleaning Question *UPDATE!- Now Pic heavy Sunny Daze Restore!*

[Moss]

I had my first bit of pony luck at the thrift store today, and grabbed a bag of toys for $1.41. In the bag was some junk I tossed, as well as a Sunny Daze and McD's Applejack! Sunny Daze is my absolute all time favorite pony, so I was thrilled to find her. Now I'm going to attempt to clean her up a bit.

When I got home I washed both ponies in very very very hot water and Dawn dish soap. I conditioned both of them, and Sunny Daze is currently hanging by her hoof magnet on my (off) radiator, so any water that might have gotten in her will hopefully drain out of her tail hole over the course of a few days. I've left the conditioner in for a while, and she's got a strip of toilet paper secured around her neck and under her tail hole to absorb water. Plus, I'm going to slip one of those silica gel packets between her and the tp to get the last of the moisture (hopefully!).

So I have two questions. Sunny cleaned up pretty well with just the soap, but she's still a bit gray in areas (around her cheek and near her mane). I was thinking of trying out a Magic Eraser, since I heard they work wonders. Tips for that?

But my big question was this: should I take her head off to clean her inside, or am I better off leaving her alone? I'm reluctant to try, only becuase I'm afraid of cutting the plastic or otherwise damaging her. She doesn't seem all that dirty, either, and from the outside I can't see any mold or rust. I just wonder what most collectors do if they just want a basic clean. Suggestions?

Thanks!

[Crowning_Glory13]

If I see signs of rust I look into possible taking apart the pony. I can handle some rust but if it looks dark and could be worse on the inside I do try it.

I love magic eraser. There is the kind with a scrubber part and one without. I use the one without. Less the chance of scratching off what you want. I have used this all over the pony. I have scrubbed hard but not near symbols, cheeks and eyes....mostly the head I just do very slow and gentle. You can get a lot of grime off.

[Elisto]

G3s are hard to get the heads off of. Personally, if I don't see any rust from the outside, I just leave it alone. From my experience with ponies I have opened, most aren't too bad inside.

[Moss]

Thanks for the tips! Gotta go get some Magic Erasers at Target later. How much do the two packs usually go for (in the US)?

And I'm leaning towards just leaving her head, but I'd love to hear other opinions!

[teresat]

I use lots of water on the Magic Eraser so when I rub I don't accidentally rub off paint. Acts as a buffer. If the eraser is too dry, it can be rough on paint.

I use Magic Eraser on a lot of stuff around the house. Stuff I didn't think would get clean are now clean. I love it!

I paid $8 for an eight pack. I also cut them in half to get into the hard to reach spots on ponies. They also last longer that way for me.

Good luck!

[Sugar]

Hi, mosspath!

I can't help it, I always have to behead my ponies and make sure there's nothing icky inside.  If I'm not the original owner, I can't be sure where that pony's been.  More with G1s than G3s, but even so.  Like the other day, I got a really pretty Tropical Delight, just a bit of combing to be done, but I opened her up anyway and her tail clamp was all green, like the beginning of rust or something.  So I declamped and replaced it with two tie-wraps, and no-one need ever worry about tail rust again.   But that's just me being pernickety.

As for Magic Erasers, love 'em!  I am cheap, though, and I cut them into as small bits as possible for cleaning, so they last even longer.  And the house brand ones are just as good as the Mr. Clean ones.

[Moss]

What's the best way to get the head off of a G3 pony, anyway? Would a butter knife and hot water be enough?

[Sugar]

I've had success with pre-soking them in extremely hot water, then alternating between dental floss soaked in acetone, and very, very gentle and delicate strokes of an exacto knife.  I went too hard on my Waterfire and gored her (cringe), but it's on her NDS side, so I learned from it and moved on.  I don't know if a butter knife would do... but either way, be really, really careful of your fingers!  Wet pony is super slippery, and easy for knives to skitter right off of.  Perhaps the customizers have a better (read: safer) method?

[Moss]

That's why I'm nervous to try at all lol. Not sure if it's worth the potential injury of myself or the pony. Thank you for your help, though!

[hathorcat]

On the magic eraser - yes thats a great idea to try and get any marks from her body.

On the head removal - I dont think every single pony has to have its head removed - there are "normally" signs if the inside of the body has issues - i.e. rust at the tail, at the plugs of the main, body discolouration through shadowing.  There are exceptions to this and sometimes you never know what a pony is hiding but she is a G3 not a G1 so she has not had as long to collect problems. If you decide to take her head off however, Sugar Lightnings idea is great - very warm water to deglue as much as possible, acetone on dental floss, a knife, patience and care.

[Moss]

Thank you for the advice! Still debating it. Does removing the head detract from their value at all? Not that g3s are that valuable, anyway lol. And should I glue the head back on after? Sorry about all the questions, I'd just hate to do something and then find out I messed up Sunny.

[gypsyunicorn]

i actually find G3 hard to put head on the taking off is easier so I have to have my strong man rehead them...personally I always take heads off when I soak any pony because tail rust is such a bugger to fix down the road and takes time to appear and I always fear finding out the ponies don't dry good without the head off

[HavACrumpet452]

I rarely use a sharp object to remove the head. You will cut something. I pull and pull to at least make a starting spot to get a blunt flat instrument in there to help with removal. You're probably removing it in vain though because she may have a plastic washer and no rust at all will form around it. Do not glue the head back on if it will stay on its own (unless you damage it by cutting). You never know when she may get moisture in her and you will want to take the head back off. It will just be able to turn like a jointed doll. Some later G3s were made with heads that can turn. I suggest sunfading the black off if magic eraser does not work.

[Moss]

Well, I did it! It took hot water, elbow grease, and a piar of sharp weing scissors, but I did it. Unfortunately, a bit of the ring around her neck got a chunk taken out of it, but I feel like this had started before I began prying her head off. The spot where it happened was actually the loose spot of her neck where I began the task, so I think that the plastic had already been going. I just finished it off lol.

So her insides were actually spotless, but I'm glad I opened Sunny up. Becuase the clamp on her tail was a funky green color, the washer had condensation on it, and there was the littlest speck of.... rust! So the washer was trash, and I took off the green clamp to be safe. I tied off her tail with embroidery floss, and wrapped a good bundle of it around it to replace the washer. Some of her tail was so tangled and refused to line up with the rest of her tail again, so there was a bit of hair loss there. Her tail is a teeny bit thinner now, but it's better than rust! I also trimmed the end of it a tad to get rid of the icky mess of different lengths. Minor things, but I'm happy that she's clean inside and out now!

Sunny is sitting out to dry unassembled for a few days, at which point I guess I'll have to glue her head back on becuase of the missing chunk. Still have to give the Magic Eraser a try, too, becuase seing her nice white insides made me realize how not white her outside is! Have some pics of my work in the meantime:
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[Sugar]

Looks good so far!   I am going to copy your idea for embroidery floss holding the tail together in the interim.   Good timing, too, 'cause it's big-time Pony Spa night chez Lightning, my box of eBay ponies came in and I'm itching to clean 'em all up.   Must... take... before photos...

Keep us posted; I love seeing how restorations go.