Do you /DARE/ restore a RARE pony?

[Wardah]

I think it all depends on the collector. Some who like to rehair themselves will seek out cheaper ponies with bad hair and then you got the ones who can't or don't want to be bothered rehairing who might be willing to pay slightly more to get a pony with perfect hair without having to send it out (and paying for shipping both ways) to get rehaired.

[Prince Primbrose]

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.

I have to agree here. I'd gladly take care of rust and basic cleaning, but I think the aesthetic part of the restoration (hair, paint, etc) should be up to the new owner to decide whether or not they want it done.

[BlackCurtains]

To sell, no, I wouldn't do much. I'd fix the hair if it was frizzy, recurl when appropriate and clean up dirt or marks, but anything more intensive than that I'd leave up to the buyer, and would price accordingly.

I've done restoration on ponies I keep though, including an Argie Windy. Not rare, but not Peachy either. If I were keeping a pony, rarity wouldn't stop me from fixing it.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

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.

Good guidelines!

[gabumon]

Me?.... if you're asking if I dare??    No I'm a big chicken pony!   
 

[Sunshine]

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.

Good guidelines!

I agree! I just sometimes never know who is always staying in the collection... you know, sometimes a twist of fate can bring you to the mint-y-est pony you've ever seen of some rare one, and then, the one you fixed up might get sold. But I agree, these are great guidelines and all of you have helped me out a bunch! Thanks!

[Ginger]

Re-pink: Nope, not on a rare pony!

Tail-rust: Not if the neck seal is really tight, wouldn't want to risk messing something up. I would certainly remove tail rust if I were keeping the pony for myself, but if selling I would leave it up to the new owner.

Scratched eye: Nope, leave as-is.

Rehair: Nope, not unless the pony is near-bald and I was keeping it for myself.

I guess I'm not very daring! Minus general cleaning/hair styling, I think when selling a rare, the more original the pony is the better.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I'll be fixing up a Nirvana soon but before anyone tell me no... here is why

1) Hair Cuts, I think they were noticeable but I need to pull her out again
2) Missing -all- of her symbols... there is only faint hits to them

In other words she is in bad need of restoring and if the pony wasn't this bad and rare I would just live it with

[Pickenprod]

I feel like I should say something else here.

If it's for me, I prefer a pony to look good and have no rust. I tend to buy restores though, to keep to my pony budget.

If there was a really nice rehair up for sale (and well-done, goes without saying) I'd buy it. I'd even be willing to pay a little more for a really good restore, especially an alternate rehair - a lot of effort goes into making them, after all  

[nhal039]

everyone's tolerances are different.
For me I would rather a pony with white hair than repinked hair
I don't mind rehairs and I would pay more for a rehaired pony than a mokawked one, i would pay less for a rehair than a slightly trimmed mane/ tail. I think its unnecessary to re-gule the neck seal after beheading a pony as the first thing I do when I get a pony is pull of there head to make sure there is no rust, often the tail washers are slightly rusted so I will totally remove them to prevent hair getting rusty in the future.

My big pet hate is rust, I have seen many ponies get cancer from rust being inside there bodies, I wish people took the effort to clean there insides sooner ; / .. I totally understand non collectors not but as collectors I personally think you should clean it out. I do not buy ponies with obvious rust issues no matter what price they are

I don't like eye rubs and would pay more to have them touched up. If its more than a dot I would like to know about it but i wouldn't find it a big deal

[Sokkis]

Well. I would most likely take care of tail rust. Cause if there's tail rust, there's a big change that pony's insides are pretty yacky. So yea, I would break THE FACTORY SEAL!

But I wouldn't repink, paint, rehair or anything like that if I'm only going to SELL. If I'm KEEPING the pony, then yea. I prefer good looking ponies.

[hathorcat]

I am completely with FantasticFirefly on this one. It depends on the level of restoration required, depends on how skilled I am in with what needs to be done and depends whether she is rare enough condition is not perhaps the most major player. 

A general clean if its removing marks, removing tail rust and general clean from mould/dirt/rust on the inside - yes I would certainly do this. This is improving a pony not changing it in any way.

As for touch ups - no I if its just a scratch in her eye or a scratch in her symbol I wouldnt do anything as it devalues. A pony with a little paintwork scratch will be more interesting to most collectors than a pony whose eye has been repainted.  For hair - if the pony is missing a tail or missing a forelock then I would track down a donor and give her it back - rehaired ponies sell better than bald ones most of the time as long as the colour matches are as close as possible. 

[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

Hey, I saw that Ice Crystal, too! 

I was hoping that with the rehair job he wouldn't go for much so I could bid on him No luck there

[partypony566]

I don't mind rehairs but I am not keen on repaints and touch ups.

[Pythia]

I would clean, including internally and breaking neck seal if necessary, IF there was obvious signs of rust/mould etc, because I think a. it hastens serious problems like mould, rust spots, cancer etc and general degradation of the pony and b. it can potentially be a health hazard, especially if shipping overseas.
Anything else, no.