I'd love to hear your thoughts on these pony cleaning experiments*quick update!*

[Shining_Lyris]

I'm going to stick the update under this cut because I tend to get long winded and this post is already really long.

Spoiler

Wow! It's great to see so many people that want some pony science! Thank you all so much for looking and or leaving comments for me. Remember, if you're going to try some of these products to keep in mind that I haven't actually used them yet myself (at least not on ponies), so do so at your own risk. PLEASE PLEASE use ventilation and a test area under a foot before doing anything drastic! 
Okay, so here's my plan. I have two baity Tex ponies coming. I haven't seen them yet, but I was assured that they appear to be suffering from the same problems. Once they arrive I'm hoping they make a good test subject and control pony.
Here's some of the science I dug up after spending several hours doing algebra. It was actually fun to get to do some research after all that algebra! Anyways, as I suspected older vinyl flooring and vinyl seat covers are or were indeed made with the same type of phthalate plasticizer as our beloved G1's! I also learned that as mold dies it turns into those hideous brown spots AFTER oxidizing!
What does this mean? It is the reason treatments like peroxide (oxiclean) don't work. I also learned that using bleach and heat MAY have been setting the oxidized spots IN the ponies' plasticizer. Similar situations arose when people have tried to bleach rust or blood or mold off of flooring or clothing as well.
So, the testing will go something like this: I'm going to try oxalic acid on one Tex and see what happens. After the results of that test I will try the acid on the feet of different colored ponies to note the reaction to different colors.
Next will be a "vinyl conditioner". I will need another baity pony to try this out on. I'm sure I've got one laying around.
Bluing fluid. I have SEVERAL poor old no longer quite white ponies to try this out on. I'm not sure how to apply it, but I will think of some way to test once I get that far. I'm fairly sure it will involve heating the pony up first, though.
Finally, if anyone DOES try these before I get a chance please let me know what your results are! I'm really interested in knowing! REMEMBER TO PONY SCIENCE SAFELY! 

So, I have been plodding around the internet and library studying up on the structure of vinyl, and why mold and bacteria seem to love infesting it so much.
As we all know, pony cancer is a huge problem for all of us that love G1.
After all of my digging around I only found two other types of vinyl products that seem to suffer from similar problems as our beloved little ponies: vinyl flooring and vinyl seats most often on boats.
Some of the cleaning solutions to these are very similar to ones I have regularly come across for cleaning ponies, such as gentle bleaching or using H2O2 (peroxide, oxyclean), magic erasers, dish soap,etc. But a few stood out to me.
So I'm wondering if anyone here has ever tried these items before?:
Oxalic acid. Many boat users swear by this. Seems a bit extreme, but it does seem promising for brown spot removal.
Vinyl conditioners. These seem to be oil/ethyl combinations that interact with plasticizer to keep vinyl soft and flexible.
Bluing fluid. Bluing fluid is used in most white fabrics to cancel out the visible yellow we see in order to make the fabric appear more white. Bluing fluid can be easily destroyed, however, especially with oxidation (peroxide). So, I'm wondering if some of the yellowing in older ponies is due to blue loss? It may also explain why some ponies yellow when acne cream is applied to them. Has anyone ever tried to put the blue back in, as it were?
I'd love to hear everypony's thoughts and feelings about these products. Has anyone used them on ponies before? Would anyone like to see them used on ponies?
It would be great to get as much information as possible before deciding on any backyard science on any ponies.
Thank you! I'd also love any links to previous pony science experiments I may have missed out on! 

[hathorcat]

I cant say I have personally tried any of those things but over the years people have tried all manner. I think it will be interesting to see what results you have.

[partypony566]

Wow interesting!

I've never tried those methods either but it would be totally neat if you could test it out on a baity fakie or something?

[Ionn]

Wow, I've used bluing on real horses but never MLP! Hmmmm, I still have a bottle hanging around...

[Artemesia's Garden]

Nice thread! Artemesia's Pony Lab have tried mineral (cheap baby) oil it seems to soak in and work well as a conditioner after scrubbing with dish soap or toothpaste. We have not tried oil/ethyl conditioners but sounds good! Also the bluing idea is genius, I wish I'd thought of it!! I'm so excited!xxx

[mlp4me]

I've never been a big fan of excessive use of chemicals on ponies. They go on a natural life course as we humans do, so I guess I'm not as picky as others when it comes to pony blemishes... LOL.
Interesting ideas though! If you give them a try let us know how they work out. It would be cool to find another way besides sun to whiten up yellowed ponies (those of us up north with less effective sunlight understand this).

[Sawkinator]

Do it! Do it!

But seriously, it would be interesting to see someone try these newer methods. I think tackling cancer from a chemical perspective rather than just as trying to fix up a toy can open up a lot more possibilities. When it comes down to it, it really is a matter of knowing how substances behave and how to keep them stable over time.

[Teddy]

Intriguing ideas!! I'd be very interested in seeing the results if you decide to try these out!

[butterflybuttons]

I'd love to see how the blueing fluid works on yellowed ponies.

[FluffleNuff]

Wow, that is surely exciting! All these new ideas! *Grabs bait Sundance*
C'mon Sundance, lets see if it works!

[archidraca]

I'm going to try the oxalid acid on my poor cancer-ridden QB and see if he truly will get the life he deserves! 

[Shining_Lyris]

I cant say I have personally tried any of those things but over the years people have tried all manner. I think it will be interesting to see what results you have.

Thanks, Hathorcat! I think it will be a lot of fun to do and I hope to get positive results.

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:28:18 AM

Wow interesting!

I've never tried those methods either but it would be totally neat if you could test it out on a baity fakie or something?

Thanks, PartyPony! Would you believe I don't actually have ANY baity fakies?

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:29:07 AM

Wow, I've used bluing on real horses but never MLP! Hmmmm, I still have a bottle hanging around...

Ooohhhh let me know what or if anything happened when you tried it! 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:30:09 AM

Nice thread! Artemesia's Pony Lab have tried mineral (cheap baby) oil it seems to soak in and work well as a conditioner after scrubbing with dish soap or toothpaste. We have not tried oil/ethyl conditioners but sounds good! Also the bluing idea is genius, I wish I'd thought of it!! I'm so excited!xxx

Thanks, Artemesia! I'm excited too! Please let me know if you try anything! 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:32:23 AM

I've never been a big fan of excessive use of chemicals on ponies. They go on a natural life course as we humans do, so I guess I'm not as picky as others when it comes to pony blemishes... LOL.
Interesting ideas though! If you give them a try let us know how they work out. It would be cool to find another way besides sun to whiten up yellowed ponies (those of us up north with less effective sunlight understand this).

Thanks, MLP4me. Oh I understand. It's always daunting to think about how chemicals will interact with each other. Hopefully these tests will shed some light on these problems though. And I know what you mean! I grew up in Minnesota! Arizona has been quite a (nice) change.

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:33:09 AM

Do it! Do it!

But seriously, it would be interesting to see someone try these newer methods. I think tackling cancer from a chemical perspective rather than just as trying to fix up a toy can open up a lot more possibilities. When it comes down to it, it really is a matter of knowing how substances behave and how to keep them stable over time.

Thanks, Sawkinator! This kind of stuff is right up my nerdy alley. I can't wait to get started. 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:34:47 AM

Intriguing ideas!! I'd be very interested in seeing the results if you decide to try these out!

Thanks, Teddy. I'm so glad that everyone seems pretty geared up to see some new ideas tried out.  I can't wait to get testing! 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:36:20 AM

I'd love to see how the blueing fluid works on yellowed ponies.

Oh, me too, ButterflyButtons! I'm trying to think up ways to treat the PVC of the ponies like a fabric, so I'm pretty sure they're going to need to be heated, much in the same way as dying them would happen. I will try several different methods though. 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:37:04 AM

Wow, that is surely exciting! All these new ideas! *Grabs bait Sundance*
C'mon Sundance, lets see if it works!

Science safely and let me know what happens, FluffleNuff! 

Post Merge: July 14, 2013, 09:38:53 AM

I'm going to try the oxalid acid on my poor cancer-ridden QB and see if he truly will get the life he deserves! 

Okay, but he's fairly dark blue, so try it out on a foot first, just to make sure.  There are also some powdered forms that you may be able to make into a paste to apply directly to just the cancer spots. Please let me know what you used and how you did it and what happened! The more information I can gather the better!Thanks, Archidraca!

[TexasGal]

Interesting ideas!  I definitely want to see how they all turn out...perhaps before and after pictures?

[MiRaja]

I would be super interested.  I'm a restore junkie ( though not much on the pony front but for cleaning and removing pindot and fixing hair, I don't do much else, like try to remove cancer, buuuuuttt. . . ) so, I can't wait to see what you get rolling. 

Science!

[Aquarel]

Do it! I want to see if it works :p Science is awesome, who knows it will be the revelation of ponyland!