Bag of G1 Ponies! What now?

[dippindot]

One of my friends dug up all of her old G1 ponies, and she's letting me clean them up for her ^_^  Yes, I find this exciting, lol.

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I don't have any experience cleaning up G1's, though, so my question is, what is the best way to go about cleaning them to make sure I don't damage them?  What kind of problems do I need to look out for; do I need to remove their heads and clean inside them? 

Thanks for any help!

[Eternia]

Generally it is advised to remove their heads, yes. If not just to take a peek in there and check for mold. Be on the look-out for tail rust, brown spots, ink marks etc. Wiping them down with a mr clean magic eraser first will probably do a lot of good and will usually get rid of pen and other kinds of marks. For hair, you want to lather it with conditioner and run a comb through it starting at the bottom.
Try not to submerge them in water, they've got metal tail washers you don't want to rust! you can use nail polish remover on tough ink, paint, or pen spots but be sure it doesn't get on their symbols eyes or blush- nail polish remover will take all that off!

[dippindot]

How do I clean the inside of the pony if it's dirty?

[invaderhorizongreen]

I usually use antibaterical soap and water for starters, then I use baby shampoo on the hair and make sure to be gentle with it. If i have a really dirty pony I soak it in oxyclean  for a bit but do not do that to a pony like bow tie it may leach her color out.

[Eternia]

take the tail out, and use an old toothbrush with some soap or soft scrub and go to town!

[tiktok]

If you are going to be taking their heads off to check and possibly clean inside anyway - which I do recommend - you might as well take the tails out and get the bodies properly clean inside and out without worrying about tail rust, and if they already have rusted washers this will be a good time to replace them with something less damaging.

[dippindot]

Cool, thanks!    After I get the head off, should I use glue to secure it back on, or just leave it loose?  Does it matter?

[Eldarwen]

I never glue the heads back on if they look nice without it. I want to be able to just take it off again later if needed. But I know some people glue them back on.

[Oneleo1]

If you can't get the head off, then don't worry about it too much. Most of the time the ponies are ok on the inside unless they are really manky on the outside. Sometimes pulling the head off can do more damage than good.

I typically just clean the outsides with a magic eraser, and then condition their hair. I don't pull heads off unless it looks like there is evidence that I need to - bad tail rust or they look really many on the outside.

[dippindot]

Do you guys use a magic eraser instead of soap and water, or in addition to it?

[HollowZero]

Some tips:

- shake them individually. Do you hear a rattle? This means the washer is loose inside and her tail may fall out. Remove the head and replace the washer. I use bread/trashbag ties as replacement.

- look at the area where the tail meets the body. Is it a little brownish? The washer is rusty if so. Replace it.

- if there's rust in the tail, remove it with toothpaste and an old toothbrush. Yes, it does work!

- is the inside of the body kind of musty smelling, or just needs a clean up? Get a toothbrush in there and scrub hard--except for the area where the mane is sewn into the head. Any product used inside the pony will leech into the hair, so be sure to rinse the mane when done scrubbing the inside.

- does the pony have marks on the outside? Magic Eraser is good for random marks, but don't use it on symbols. I had a Confetti with ink stains and a light sandpaper removed them (nail file worked a bit too). If the sandpaper is too rough, it'll make the pony rough too, though. Usually just a good scrubbing with your hands and soap will remove a lot of surface dirt.

- is the mane frizzy? Lots of things can be done to fix this, but conditioner left in the hair for as long as possible (overnight is fine) is a good start. If it's exceptionally frizzy you can try a flat iron (only use it while the pony's hair is wet, and keep rewetting the hair as you go) Some pony hair cannot be salvaged, though.

- I see Fizzy there, be cautious of her eyes--TE's have a shiny paint on them that can come off if you scrub too hard.

- I also see a fakie. If you're worried, try your cleaning out on the fakie first, fakies don't mind the extra attention.

[Oneleo1]

Do you guys use a magic eraser instead of soap and water, or in addition to it?

I use it instead of soap and water, it removes marks far better than soap and water.

[hathorcat]

I agree with OL1 - its not always necessary to remove a pony's head unless there are glaring and obvious issues. I do agree with a wipe over - I use antibacterial/baby wipes and a magic eraser in order to get rid of marks.

Ashes and BFBs thread at the top of the Corral has some awesome advice on cleaning and there are some great ideas posted here. If you are stuck or unsure of what a problem is you can always post a picture here and someone will be able to tell you how and if it can be fixed up!

[lovesbabysquirmy]

We love helping people clean ponies!  Feel free to ask lots of questions, post pictures, etc.    The threads stickied at the top are a huge help when it comes to basic info. 

I see a Perfume Puff - make sure you brush her hair gently with a wide-tooth comb to cut down on the hairloss! 

[dippindot]

Thanks for all the tips!   I love the arena 

I popped the heads off of a few that had loose glue anyways;  three were perfectly clean inside, and two had rust around the washers, which I saw on the tails before I opened them. 

I will pick up some magic erasers next time I'm at Walmart so I can start cleaning the bodies

Here is a group shot of all the ponies -

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