How to clean dirt from hair plugs? w/ pics

[ponyqueen]

Help! I've seen this a couple times now and I can't get it clean! The dirt is jammed into the plugs near the scalp, and no amount of brushing with shampoo and toothbrush will get it un-dirty! What can I do? Boil? Oxi-clean? Anything?
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While I'm at it, how to deal with her tail rust? Doesn't bother me as much as the mane plugs, but since I still got her sudsy...
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[FantasticFirefly]

I'm normally pro factory seal, but in these cases her head seal will need to be broken to clean her properly. I remove the head prying it with hands. start by trying dry, if that doesn't work run the seam under hot water for a min or so before retrying. or VERY carefully with acetone and dental floss if that doesn't work. be careful to not saw clean through, or drip/spatter the acetone (goggles are a good idea, a clean pony isn't worth getting a chemical in your eyes in error)

After that, I rinse out the crud I can, then let her soak in a solution*, it doesn't need to be boiled, even warm water does the trick with cleaner. her metal washer holding the tail in place is likely shot/broken/rusted apart and it's not a sin to throw it away (if it hasn't dissolved entirely).

*avoid using CLR cleaner for rust, it will change the colour of her chartreuse hair. Oxy powder is popular for this problem, but it will dry out the hair a bit.

after soaking, scrubbing her out with tools (qtips, toothbrush, bottle cleaner) will remove the grime. I find soaking also releases the stuff caught inside the hairplugs as well.

[tiggerkitn25]

Yep, I would say the hair plugs are rust as well, not dirt.  Once you get  her open, pull out the tail with pliers and replace the washer with a plastic one, or maybe use a zip tie to re-secure it.  Then scrub the tail with toothpaste to get the rust out of the hair. 

[SeashellnBubbles]

I agree with Firefly...this is an inside-ot issue. You won't take care of the problem with just a surface cleaning and i can guarantee you're going to find a mess inside this poor girl. Whitening toothpaste (paste...not gel) and a toothbrush does a good job of cleaning rust...just use it with a small baby-sized toothbrush to scrub inside the pony , really concentrating in the head along the hair line. Alternate cleaning inside and outside hair line. You can use the toothpaste on the tail as well to remove the rust. It's easiest if you use the edge ofyou porcelain sink to spread out the wet hair on either side of the clamp. Make sure to rinse well and condition the heck out of. The mane and tail when you're done...the toothpaste is very drying to the hair.
You can use a tinmy toothbrush, long pair of tweezers or hemostats with a bit of rough cloth at the ends to clean down inside the skinny legs of this girl. It'll also work for inside her ears and nose inside the head. You can put hot water and Oxyclean (or like product) right inside her body to help loosen the crud.
Hope that helps! Good luck with the cleaning, and post some before/after pics...I love b/a pics!

[hathorcat]

Completely agree with everyone here. As much as I dont see the need to pop off the head of every pony, in this case you clearly have a pony packed with rust.

Getting her body and head separated and getting inside her to clear everything out is going to make the world of a difference and get rid of both your problems. Also if she has such bad tail rust, clearing it up from the outside will not permanently remove the problem, the washer and clamp are rusted and you cant get to them from the outside - unless you remove them or clean and dry them, the tail rust will creep back again. And as FF mentions, make sure not to get that hair in super hot water as it will stain.