Do you /DARE/ restore a RARE pony?

[Sunshine]

Strickly speaking - as a matter of - "I want to make the most money off this rare pony"

Do you DARE repink a faded white hair rare pony?

*Of course, FULL disclosure about the repinking when selling her - NO FUNNY BUSINESS!  *

But would you dare do this, or do you just say - well, I have to live with the white hair, and hope to get a good price?

What about tail rust? With a solid neck seal in place on a rare pony, do you dare take off her head and fix the tail rust?

Would you dare try to fix a scratched eye? Even if it's a tiny little dot that's just black?

Would you dare rehair a rare pony (again solid neck seal, and again FULL disclosure) or do you leave it with it's chopped hair?

What's the best method of restoring or making a rare pony absolutely the best you can, to sell it? I mean - as far as things like that... Obviously normal cleaning methods that can be used on any pony apply to the "restore" process, but I mean more intensive restorations. Or are the best left untouched as far as the intensive stuff goes?

Thank you for the insight!

[Pickenprod]

I guess it depends how rare it is. I'd do my best to clean up anything US-released (but not MO), especially gross stuff like tail rust (blech!!!). But I'd draw the line at rehairing or repainting international variants! I might pop the head off if they were really gross, though

[Spectrum]

I'd personally get rid of the tail rust, but then again, I'm not sure what's the great deal about the head being 100% factory sealed. xD As for the rest of the flaws, I'd leave that up to the new owner.

[Ice Crystal]

Yeah, depends on how rare is. If I think it's especially nasty inside, I might take off the head and wash it out, and maybe even work on the tail rust (not sure if I would replace the tail washer if I was going to sell it, since I'd want it to have all of its original parts).

If it was a super rare international variant, or even Rapunzel, I wouldn't even think about rehairing or repainting!

[FantasticFirefly]

Removing, yes. Like basic removing of dust and dirt (there's no value in dirt!) removing rust out of a tail with some toothpaste and cleaning out the gunk inside if a rare pony is nasty and moldy. Baking soda treatment to remove a foul smell like cigarette. Hot water to remove light frizzing.

Replacing, hardly ever. I have replaced hair on a htf/rare and sold her as a re-hair, used the proper colour and replicated the cut pretty well. She went quickly and for a better price then I would have gotten for a bald pony- well she was almost bald. what little hair she had left looked like a moldy brillo pad. I did only fix her as I planned to keep her myself. Then I found her replacement in a box of ponies at an auction.

I don't like ponies with paint touch ups or reglued neck seals myself, so I don't do that to anything I sell.

[PinkRosedust]

But would you dare do this, or do you just say - well, I have to live with the white hair, and hope to get a good price?

- I personally just leave them as they are, and I don't mind buying ponies with faded hair (but I wouldn't pay or charge as much for them). Though I don't see how repinking could devalue them. If someone REALLY doesn't want it, they could just fade the hair back to white lol.

What about tail rust? With a solid neck seal in place on a rare pony, do you dare take off her head and fix the tail rust?

- I don't think a head that's been removed devalues a pony, unless it was poorly done and resulted in ripped plastic around the neck, or a head that won't stay on by itself anymore. So I have no problem doing that and don't care if a pony I buy has a loose head.

Would you dare try to fix a scratched eye? Even if it's a tiny little dot that's just black?

- This is something I don't personally do, but if a really good job is done of fixing it, (and maybe a photo of what the eye looked like before is present) then I don't think this would bring value down too much. As long as I knew it had been fixed, I'd probably prefer a pony that has to a pony with a huge bare spot on it's display side eye - that's a big pet peeve of mine.

Would you dare rehair a rare pony (again solid neck seal, and again FULL disclosure) or do you leave it with it's chopped hair?

 - I don't rehair ponies, but when shopping, I much prefer original hair, even if it's super frizzy, or if it's been cut. I only prefer a rehair if the mane has been cut super short, like less than an inch. Otherwise the pony can still look really nice! I have a ton of ponies in my collection with haircuts and I think it gives them personality. I've actually been seeking them out lately.

What's the best method of restoring or making a rare pony absolutely the best you can, to sell it? I mean - as far as things like that... Obviously normal cleaning methods that can be used on any pony apply to the "restore" process, but I mean more intensive restorations. Or are the best left untouched as far as the intensive stuff goes?

 - I really think it's up to you. But to basically summarize what I said above; as a buyer, I generally prefer my pony to be as original as possible. In most cases I'd probably pay more for a pony in it's original shape if it wasn't TOO bad than a pony that's been rehaired and repainted and whatever else. But I think this is something that is relative. I know there are members who prefer a fixed up pony, but there are also those like me who prefer it to be original.

[partypony566]

Removing, yes. Like basic removing of dust and dirt (there's no value in dirt!) removing rust out of a tail with some toothpaste and cleaning out the gunk inside if a rare pony is nasty and moldy. Baking soda treatment to remove a foul smell like cigarette. Hot water to remove light frizzing.

Replacing, hardly ever. I have replaced hair on a htf/rare and sold her as a re-hair, used the proper colour and replicated the cut pretty well. She went quickly and for a better price then I would have gotten for a bald pony- well she was almost bald. what little hair she had left looked like a moldy brillo pad. I did only fix her as I planned to keep her myself. Then I found her replacement in a box of ponies at an auction.

I don't like ponies with paint touch ups or reglued neck seals myself, so I don't do that to anything I sell.

This! ^^

[PandaBerryInSpace]

Yep, I dare. I removed the greying, ratty string from my Princess Rinse'n'Spit and replaced it with Dollyhair... I also rerooted my Goldilocks because her original hair was tangled and frizzy.

[Shenanigans]

I've never had any rare ponies come my way so I wouldn't know But if I DID.... I would try to fix them up best I could I saw an Ice Crystal with a total rehair and a few marks still sell for over $80 on ebay I would much rather have a rare pony rehaired than one with yucky hair or a bad hair cut. Repairs on ponies make them look better whether they're rare or not

[mlp4me]

They are your ponies, do with them as you wish. It all depends on the buyer. I would prefer to restore a pony myself so i prefer them needing work. Like you said multiple times, disclosure if something has been changed/restored. As for rust or dirty insides, they need to be cleaned at my house even if it means all pony heads are ripped off.

[scarletjul]

I've never had any rare ponies come my way so I wouldn't know But if I DID.... I would try to fix them up best I could I saw an Ice Crystal with a total rehair and a few marks still sell for over $80 on ebay I would much rather have a rare pony rehaired than one with yucky hair or a bad hair cut. Repairs on ponies make them look better whether they're rare or not

Hey, I saw that Ice Crystal, too! 

If it were me, a lot of it depends on how rare, how much cleanup and if there's any chance on me re-selling or if the pony would always, no matter what, stay in my collection.  So:

Yes, always, on cleaning - inside and out if needed - and defrizzing.  I'll take out ail rust if needed, too, and I'll recurl.

Repinking is a go if I plan to keep the pony and if (s)he isn't too rare.  I might reprint a Satin and Lace.  I would not repink the MO Mommy pony, however.  I'm undecided about Tornado. 

I would rehair if the pony is staying in the collection.

I would probably not repaint/touch up unless the pony's looking pretty awful.

[SkyCakes]

I did rehair my goldilocks only because her hair was cut shorter than I liked. I still have her in my collection. I would fix up rusty insides even if the pony was rare. I wouldnt try to paint their symbols or eyes unless I was truly intending to keep them. I have restored a pony's hair and traded her off to a new owner who really liked her. I would tell people that a pony has been restored or rehaired.

[NovelNerd]

The majority of my harder to find ponies I bought with flaws on purpose. I really enjoy fixing them up. I just love them! Half of my Nirvanas have needed to be rehaired from having short chopped manes or none at all. I do buy them for myself though, so I want my girls to look nice. After all they are mine.

[Sunshine]

I've never had any rare ponies come my way so I wouldn't know But if I DID.... I would try to fix them up best I could I saw an Ice Crystal with a total rehair and a few marks still sell for over $80 on ebay I would much rather have a rare pony rehaired than one with yucky hair or a bad hair cut. Repairs on ponies make them look better whether they're rare or not

Hey, I saw that Ice Crystal, too! 

If it were me, a lot of it depends on how rare, how much cleanup and if there's any chance on me re-selling or if the pony would always, no matter what, stay in my collection.  So:

Yes, always, on cleaning - inside and out if needed - and defrizzing.  I'll take out ail rust if needed, too, and I'll recurl.

Repinking is a go if I plan to keep the pony and if (s)he isn't too rare.  I might reprint a Satin and Lace.  I would not repink the MO Mommy pony, however.  I'm undecided about Tornado. 

I would rehair if the pony is staying in the collection.

I would probably not repaint/touch up unless the pony's looking pretty awful.

It's funny you mention MO Mommy Pony... she was one of the ones I was thinking of. Nivanas are NOT what I'm thinking of. I also like flawed Nirvanas and would buy them in a more fixed up state... rehairs on Nirvanas can be essential, and that's okay for me... but I'm definitely thinking of ponies like US Rapunzel, US Mommy Pony, US Sweet Scoops - some of the really rare US ponies...


So basically to sum it up - getting rid of rust and frizz and dirt is good. Anything beyond that is kind of... half and half - sometimes it might be okay for some buyers, sometimes they want all original. The rarer the pony, the better it is to have it more original is what I'm gathering!

This has really helped me out! It also helps me when thinking of value when I buy rare ponies, things to look for, and what's "good" and what's maybe.... not so good! Thank you all! 

[Snapdragon]

If I'm cleaning up a rare pony for sale, I wouldn't do anything drastic - breaking the neck seal, re-pinking, re-sculpting or re-painting anything. Some people want their super-rare pony as close to factory as they can, and that's their choice! I don't want to drive off potential sellers with a laundry list of non-original beautifications made to the pony.

But if she's mine, and I'm planning on keeping her forever - then I might make a few adjustments, just the ones that appeal to me most. Because hey, it's my pony, I do what I want!