Saving Baby Sugarberry . . . sunfading and eye repaint?

[Haruna]

So my mom got my sister a bargain Baby Sugarberry for Christmas; the problem is, although the rest of her is great, her eyes have been outlined in marker and there's a big rub to the left eye. It looks like a kid tried to give her more eyelashes (that's my best guess). I've done a fair amount of sunfading with other ponies (Florida's great for it, even this time of year), but I haven't usually sunfaded small areas like around the eyes. How would you guys suggest doing it, without fading her eyes or otherwise messing her up? Will it even help or is this marker too ingrained? Also, what to do about her left eye? I don't think I have a steady enough hand to give her a good repaint, and I'm not sure what paint I would use to do it. But if I were to do it, any tips?

Thanks for any advice! She's too pretty and rare to leave how she is.

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[princessluna11706]

You could try sunfading (just make sure to cover all the paint and hair so that doesn't fade.)

*edit*

About repainting the eye, I'd like to know how to do that myself :laugh:  I'm not sure what paint is best and how to seal it so it doesn't wipe/wash off.

[LadyMoondancer]

I wouldn't use Removezit, I've heard it can turn white ponies yellow over time.  Sometimes years later.

IMO those marks will sunfade out . . . I guess I'd cover the main part of the eye (and the rest of the pony, including hair) and just leave the eyelashes visible?  And check her constantly since the Florida sun is so strong.

For her left eye, you'll have to decide whether to restore it (repaint it) or leave it as is.  Personally I would restore it, but I know some people prefer to leave ponies as original as possible.  But I find bad eye rubs really depressing, like the pony literally can't see. I know it's just a toy, but it would still bother me.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Do NOT use Acne Cream on ponies.  Ever. 

I cringe whenever someone advises this - we've proven as a community with multiple horror stories that stuff is bad news for ponies, continuing to affect the plastic long after the product is supposedly removed.  It can spread, leeching dyes and yellowing white ponies months and even years down the road.  Vinyl and RemoveZit are a bad combination.  It's just not worth the risk to your future collection. 

Agree that sunfading is the way to go - you can use white paint to temporarily cover up her eyes and aluminum foil for the rest.  Purple tends to fade well, only red is easier.  For the eye paint, I'd repaint at least the black and white after sunfading - those are easy to match.

[nhal039]

sunfade, it will take out vivid I have done it plenty of times before

[Haruna]

Thanks so much for the replies, everyone!

Agree that sunfading is the way to go - you can use white paint to temporarily cover up her eyes and aluminum foil for the rest.  Purple tends to fade well, only red is easier.  For the eye paint, I'd repaint at least the black and white after sunfading - those are easy to match.

What kind of paint should I use to cover her eyes, and how do I remove it later? I've heard about this but always been too nervous to try it. Also, when/if I repaint her eyes, what kind of paint would you recommend?

[Baby Sugarberry]

Cheap acrylic paint, the water based kind, is what's usually recommended.  I've not tried it myself.

[Haruna]

Cheap acrylic paint, the water based kind, is what's usually recommended.  I've not tried it myself.

Okay, thanks!

[rybett]

What about a blob of wet toilet paper on the eye?  It would dry and stick, then just reset to take it off.

[mimicsno1fan]

If you're set on repainting the eye i think Pinkkittywinks does restoration jobs for a small fee and her work is marvelous

[kasin]

when I have something like a TAF with alot of symbols and I want to sun fade the body I use plastic wrap and a cheap paint to cover parts like eyes (I use doller store white out actually) tin foil the hair so it won't dry out as much.

that said, if it's the glossy finish eyes they can take some  time in the sun without fading, I wouldn't risk much, but if they are going to get touched up anyway? .....

[Taffeta]

If you're set on repainting the eye i think Pinkkittywinks does restoration jobs for a small fee and her work is marvelous

She does an amazing job. She repainted Baby Bluebelle's horrible missing eyes for me and Baby B now looks like a completely new pony.

http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,376917.msg1512226.html#msg1512226
(Pics here)

PKW is in the UK so I dunno if the timeframe is too tight to include overseas shipping and back, but at the very least I'm sure she'd be able to give some advice about this.

[Haruna]

Thanks, mimicsno1fan and Taffeta! I hadn't thought of that. I have two of Pinkkittywink's customs and their repainted eyes are awesome. Maybe I'll ask my sister once she receives her (hopefully with the pen sunfaded away) if she wants to send her overseas for an eye repaint (we'd pay for it, of course!). That way she would still get her for Christmas. She's less picky than me, so she may not mind the eye rub (it is pretty bad, though, so hard to say).

when I have something like a TAF with alot of symbols and I want to sun fade the body I use plastic wrap and a cheap paint to cover parts like eyes (I use doller store white out actually) tin foil the hair so it won't dry out as much.

Cool, good to know. How do you remove the white-out?

[kasin]

I wrap the parts I want to paint with plastic wrap first and then paint over what I want to protect. the sun will still fade the unpainted parts through the plastic wrap. when the pony is done you just pull the plastic off and throw it away.

[Haruna]

I wrap the parts I want to paint with plastic wrap first and then paint over what I want to protect. the sun will still fade the unpainted parts through the plastic wrap. when the pony is done you just pull the plastic off and throw it away.

Oh, excellent! She has such intricate symbols and I've been considering sunfading all of her (mostly so that she doesn't get white rings around her eyes), so this might be the ideal solution. Thank you!