What not to do

[CarolSpain]

Hello there

I really need to learn a lot of regarding pony washing and restauration.

I read some posts and I see that it's easy to worsen, for example with the acne cream.

So I would like to collect on this topic the worst ideas you have, and so some of us will avoid to make the same mistakes.

If something is yet comented it would be enough with the link.

Thanks so much in advance.

[Aadra310]

Not sure that I have many bad ideas for you- learning to restore and clean ponies has been a trial and error process throughout the community and there is a lot of info available on good ways to tackle certain problems.

A member has a whole site for it! http://www.mlppreservationproject.com/

Probably the worst things you can do are... 

1) use acetone (finger nail polish remover)- it will take off paint and can cause a lot of damage.  Do not use unless you are spot treating or really know what you are doing!  Magic eraser is usually better
2) cut hair or pony vinyl.  These are typically no-nos except in rare instances.  If in doubt, ask!
3)  use heat on dry pony hair.  You'll burn in.  Ironing out frizz takes lots of conditioner!
4) expect perfection.  These are 30 year old toys (if we're talking g1s).  It's okay if yours isn't perfect.  Sometimes, trying to fix a minor problem really isn't worth the risk.  Enjoy the pony for what it is, a previously loved toy!

That's all I can think of off the top of my head!

[Baby Sugarberry]

Unrestrained use of Oxyclean, bleach or acne creams (as you've already noted, never use acne cream).
Oxy has bad reactions to certain hair colors / plastics / finishes, really not something I'd recommend for anything but the baitiest or commonest ponies.  If you'd be at all concerned about ruining said pony, don't dunk them in harsh chemicals.

[ponyqueen]

Don't use chemicals or hot water to clean so soft ponies! It will loosen their fur and then they will be bald.   

[reanna-mator]

Don't put Twinkle Eye ponies in an Oxyclean bath.

Be super careful cleaning Magic Message ponies.

A lot of hair colors can fade in the sun, not just pink. The light blue streak in Glory's hair, for example.

[hathorcat]

I ll third or forth acne cream...honestly its the absolute worst thing you can use on a pony. Its always amazes me its something that people still do but I think the fact old posts and old webpages are still accessible are what causes the problem.

A lot of restoration, as has been mentioned here, is very much learn as you go. We are always finding out different things which do and dont work. I know there are a couple of things I have used on ponies years ago that I am still monitoring to see if they have any reaction.

[TickleMePink]

Don´t use a hair straightener unless you know the temperature is low enough and the hair is soaked enough or it will melt. It kinda speaks for itself, but that´s my biggest fail so far (which my poor Baby Brightbow can testify!).

[reanna-mator]

Don´t use a hair straightener unless you know the temperature is low enough and the hair is soaked enough or it will melt. It kinda speaks for itself, but that´s my biggest fail so far (which my poor Baby Brightbow can testify!).

Yes! Don't underestimate a straightener's capability to burn or melt hair. Use one of the very lowest settings, you can always turn it up a notch if you need to, and you probably won't.

[Tiara546]

I have one too, which was not mentioned yet: if you want to boil a pony, for example in order to kill the bacteria which were found "working" in age spot/breakdown areas, NEVER ever do this with a vibrant pink haired pony like peachy or, if you absolutely have to, take the hair out first. The colour will go all dull if this colour is boiled for a few minutes. :-/
I am sure this goes for other colours as well, but I don't know which ones and I sure am not keen on finding out myself @_@.

Another one which I personally wish people would take care of is not to alter the smell of a pony. Almost any product people use in order to clean/wash ponies does leave artificial frangrance on it which takes months to even years in order to vanish, and I feel, some will never vanish completely at all. I only use unscented shampoo and unscented organic laundry conditioner in which I add some pure silicon oil (must be dosed with great care)...
same goes for fabric accessories and accessories in general which people wash with their laundry. I have to put them outside on the balcony for some time upon recieving such an item, sometimes for weeks. But I'm writing this just as a topic you might not have thought of before; of course, it's up to you which products you actually use.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Age spots are not caused by bacteria, that's a myth.

Age spots aka vinyl deterioration are entropy - the unbonding of a complex molecule into its smaller, more stable component parts.  Bromine is largely thought to be responsible for the brown circular staining, it was added to vinyl mixes in the 80's as a flame retardant.

Don't leave accessories on ponies, particularly if they themselves are flexible plastic (saddles, bridles, shoes) and even fabric ones should be eyed with extreme caution, particularly those with neon or bright colors.  Vinyl can and will soak up the dyes from other surfaces if pressed against them long enough.

[Tiara546]

Someone here on the Arena microscoped age spots with a dark center and, from what I remember, found severe bacteria activity there. Did you have that information? Perhaps there's different kinds also, so maybe both is true.

[Elisto]

Yeah, Black Curtains had found what looked to be bacteria, although unfortunately it looks like they either deleted the video of the microscope image or made it private. I wouldn't call it "severe bacteria activity," but there was definitely something in there.

Also, old and maybe not the most helpful, but I have a link in my signature to a list of cleaning supplies and methods people have tried, with the results.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Why then do these spots show up chronically in certain colors only?  If it was purely based on environmental factors, the distribution should be ubiquitous.  The evidence doesn't fit the facts.  There's some old posts about bacteria eating plasticizers, yes, but in the same breath they recommend an acne cream (Remove-Zit) as the perfect treatment, something we know is a terrible idea now.

Ponies have developed age spots in conditions that preclude bacterial growth - under 50% humidity.  For all we know its a commonality rather than causation. For that matter there's likely more than one agent causing discolourations, which we tend to lump together under one umbrella term.

[pinkkittywinks]

Don't put Twinkle Eye ponies in an Oxyclean bath.

Or Princess ponies! The oxy can damage the tinsel as well as the symbols

Love pkw xxx

[Elisto]

Why then do these spots show up chronically in certain colors only?  If it was purely based on environmental factors, the distribution should be ubiquitous.  The evidence doesn't fit the facts.  There's some old posts about bacteria eating plasticizers, yes, but in the same breath they recommend an acne cream (Remove-Zit) as the perfect treatment, something we know is a terrible idea now.

I'm not sure what you're saying.

Ponies have developed age spots in conditions that preclude bacterial growth - under 50% humidity.  For all we know its a commonality rather than causation. For that matter there's likely more than one agent causing discolourations, which we tend to lump together under one umbrella term.

Multiple causes is exactly what I suspect too. Age, environmental conditions, the exact make-up of the different colors and dyes probably all contribute. I'm not sure why this would necessarily rule out bacteria as one of the potential causes. We don't know the exact conditions these toys may have experienced, and if there is any bacteria in there, it would obviously be something a bit unusual since plastic isn't typically a good medium for living things. But we have found specialized bacteria that can live in other strange, supposedly inhospitable environments, so I wouldn't want to rule out the possibility entirely until someone more knowledgeable can identify just what that was that Black Curtains and presumably others have found.