Condition of neck seal

[Artemesia's Garden]

Hi guys,

thought I'd put my previous question into a poll

Would like to know your thoughts

Good wishes!

[himmie]

I have no preference. Except that if someone removes it, I prefer it remain loose.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Sorry Himmie I just made an edit because I realised the options were flawed...

I won't change it again now!

 

[Foxtale]

Hmmm don't quite fall into any of those categories. I prefer that the pony has a factory sealed, but if there is a rattling noise, rusty washer, mold, or odor I do not mind if the seal i broken. If the seal is broken, it has to be clean. The head has to rest firmly on the neck (no weird bumps or holes). If the seal has to be broken at some point, and it is done cleanly, I prefer it not to be re-glued. I think the worst is re-gluing. I like my ponies as close to original as possible while still keeping them in tact. Introducing another kind of glue may further lead to deterioration of the plastic if it is not the right kind.

[Artemesia's Garden]

Thanks Foxtale, nice post!

Post Merge: June 16, 2013, 02:43:04 PM

Ha ha I really don't want to be a Mc Donald's pony...

[HavACrumpet452]

I prefer mine open, as I usually open them for cleaning, and then to stay unglued so I may open them later if need be. I do not want any ponies that somebody tried to re-glue. Also I prefer mine opened without a sharp tool as that almost always causes visible damage to the neckline.

[Marlin]

Hmmm... none of those options really applied to me... I prefer factory sealed, but I can live with loosened heads.  Don't mind either way really, but if a head has been removed, I find it a little sad if a butchers job has been made of it.

[Beth3346]

I prefer them to be factory sealed but i'm not really that picky.  If their heads turn that is fine. I don't remove their heads unless they have tail rust and grime inside. 

I did have a couple of ponies that had really bad tail rust and needed to be cleaned.  Their heads were impossible to remove without cutting through the inner neck ring.  It was almost like the inside of their necks had melted together.  In that case i either had to live with the tail rust and grime or cut the head off and glue it back on after cleaning the inside and replacing the tail washer.  I really hate tail rust so i cut them open.  They still look great on display though

[hathorcat]

Hmmm don't quite fall into any of those categories. I prefer that the pony has a factory sealed, but if there is a rattling noise, rusty washer, mold, or odor I do not mind if the seal i broken. If the seal is broken, it has to be clean. The head has to rest firmly on the neck (no weird bumps or holes). If the seal has to be broken at some point, and it is done cleanly, I prefer it not to be re-glued. I think the worst is re-gluing. I like my ponies as close to original as possible while still keeping them in tact. Introducing another kind of glue may further lead to deterioration of the plastic if it is not the right kind.

Yes! This sums me up as well.

Ultimately my preference is factory original but I can occasionally life with an opened neckline if it was to fix internal issues. However I am not interested if the removal has caused damage to the neckline or even the internal plug.

[Spectrum]

Meh, no preference whatsoever. 

[Ivaness]

It doesn't really bother me, either way. I've had some good luck with a sharp object to pry neck joints loose. But, sadly, I would get over zealous and somehow get Hulk strength and tear the plug a little bit. (Apparently, I become a sailor in those times too.)

Glory, Lemondrop, Baby Moondancer, and another pony whose name I can't think of had to have their heads removed due to water getting inside of them. They've been in various oxy baths for about a week now, so I had to remove their heads. But, I prefer not to if I can help it.

[autojoy]

I definitely prefer a non-mouldied, non-rusty pony, so.... if the head's gotta come off to fix those issues, then it's gotta come off. In this respect, I can take neck damage! Sometimes the glue is incredibly tough... I appreciate it's not always an easy job, and mistakes happen.

[Griffin]

I prefer factory seal, but I don't mind loose heads if they've been (neatly) removed for a purpose, i.e. rust cleaning etc. I also don't hesitate to take off heads if the pony shows signs of tail rust, mold and other nasty things.

Like previous posters, I don't really care for ponies with their heads reglued. I never glue mine back if I need to take them off, that way they're easier to open again if need be.

[Artemesia's Garden]

OK I've bathed and de-washered 10 ponies in two days. Here are the things I've learned (confirming some of the great advice above, many thanks!)

1. I'm not going to try to do so many in one go again. I run out of patience even though I love it so much. And you need major patience to remove heads.

2. Neck rings vary a lot. Use copious hot water and even hair dryer to warm up the glue. In many ponies the glue on the outside of the neck seal is easy to crack open under hot water with a blunt blade. However, one further into the join, some pony types have one or more points where the plastic seems actually fused between body and neck plug. Here it seems that using a sharp knife is unavoidable. Annoyingly in the Bow Tie pose the tough spot is right in the crook of the neck where any mistakes will be mega-obvious. On some ponies the base of the plug it really tough to open up all around the circumference - I ended up gently scoring with a sharp knife till the plug was free.

3. The two neck plugs (inside the neck seal) that I tore happened (1) because the blunt knife slipped in too far during the initial stage (2) I pulled strongly at a strong spot in the ring of the neck plug and tore too quickly into a weaker spot. So I blame myself and put this down to lack of patience. The variation in the plastic makes it really hard to judge how deep to go or how much strength to use so you just have to take it REALLY REALLY slowly, use strong but consistent pressure and keep swilling it under the hot water tap. This damage doesn't show on the outside and is 2 in 40 ponies so I'm kinda OK about it.

4. If nail varnish remover is necessary, only use the cheapest least coloured nail varnish remover as this is more likely to be purer acetone; formulations are different. Yesterday I stained a Cherries Jubilee slightly yellow as the remover contained some kind of conditioning agent (you shake two immiscible layers together before use). Luckily she was baity, and I'm going to keep using her as a guinea pig, and stick to the lab ethanol and acetone I swiped. She will be my first re-hairing project as the entire forelock is missing!

5. Factory curl is almost always salvageable with patience. I have heard so much about people taking straighteners to the ponies that I thought Buttons (my first) was a fluke but I'm so chuffed with my long haired Bow Tie and Waverunner from today. The ponies have less curl but you can still make it look nice - I don't mind if there is a little friz and fly-aways in curls, it's only natural.  My Bow Tie is kind of frizzy in a way but it looks kinda cool like some enormous extravagant wig ha ha. I wish I had done hair before and after pics but I will in future!

6. I have decided my preference is that I don't want to buy ponies that have been treated in the following ways:

1. Boiling
2. Boiling in Oxy clean
3. Hair straightened using heat
4. Bleach
5. Excessive sunfading (Ok to fade unsightly biro, not left for weeks on end).

I'd rather have creamy coloured frizzy ponies until I learn more about how the above treatments affect the vinyl or Nylon hair.

I've had such a good time!

When I get the data cable back for my camera I'll post pics. I have before and after for Parasol, Windy and Gusty. Still havign problems with rust stains around Gusty's tail hole but it's coming together.

Lots of Lovexx


 

[HollowZero]

Loose, because not only does that tell me the pony has (hopefully) been thoroughly cleaned, I can clean it later on if need be.