Mostly used for removing marks, de-flocking so soft ponies, and removing unwanted glue from pony bodies. Avoid painted areas as it will remove them. Available at hardware stores or in smaller quantities as nail polish remover. Acetone damages PVC, so don't leave your ponies exposed to it for extended periods and rinse it off once you're finished.
Acetone and other solvents will dissolve a layer on the outer surface of vinyl. They have their uses, but use caution as damage they cause cannot be fixed. Sovents leach plasticizer out of vinyl. Once all the plasticizer is gone the vinyl may crack.
Sold at craft stores, these can potentially be used to cast and mold replacement 3D symbols, accessories, and parts to playsets.
Some collectors have even molded entire ponies.
Really are magic! These are great for taking all sorts of marks and stains off of ponies, as well as for the general cleaning of surface dirt and reducing the appearance of smooze/pin dot mold. Make certain to get the original version. The ones made for bathrooms, etc., have cleaning chemicals in them that you don't want on your ponies.
These are great for cleaning over symbols, eyes, blush and other painted areas, but be gentle as they will remove paint if you rub too hard. They can also scratch the surface of the pony so again, use them gently. It's essentially a very fine sandpaper. And yes, they are supposed to fall apart as you use them.
When gluing broken bits back onto playsets, fixing accessories, or replacing stickers, various adhesives are available. Because of the effects chemicals may have on these items over time, such as discoloring, or brittleness, you may choose to use adhesives specifically intended for collectibles. These include model glue or museum putty, both available at most craft stores and amazon. Look for items described as "archival safe" when searching for adhesives. There are also several types of glue available designed for use with plastics and vinyl. Aleene's Liquid Fusion is also a good option for many projects.
This is used for cleaning, disinfecting, whitening, and killing mold and mildew. The Clorox website recommends soaking plastic, non-porous toys in a solution of 3/4 cups bleach per gallon water for 5 minutes to kill germs and mold. No directions available for its use on porous toys such as ponies though. Bleach usually doesn't affect a pony's body color, but may fade hair, painted areas, cause yellowing on so softs, or breakdown of glue. Bleach is a strong base and is corrosive and will damage PVC. When used to bleach staining caused by a fungus, the dark color usually returns when the PVC returns to it's normal pH level.
Exposure to chlorine can cause a chemical reaction that results in brown streaks in vinyl. This cannot be reversed. Non-chlorine bleach may be safer for ponies. Chlorine is also present in things like cardboard, paper products, sometimes even accessories.
To clean many surface stains as well as mold and rust inside a pony's body, simply soak it in a solution of water and OxiClean or another similar cleaning product such as Vanish Oxy Action. The spray on version can work well for cleaning so soft ponies. If using hot water, be careful that the pony doesn't burn or melt with contact on the bottom or sides of the pot.
Remove the ponies head so the water gets inside. This also helps prevent the head and body from becoming misshapen and allows the pony to dry more thoroughly. You'll also likely need to rinse off excess powder and wash and condition your ponies hair after you are finished.
There doesn't seem to be a set rule collectors use for the amount of powder and water to use. It's just a arbitrary "scoop" of cleaning product in a pot, bowl, or sink full of water. The amount of time to soak the pony varies by what it is you are trying to remove. If boiling, the pony can realistically only stay in the water for a few minutes. For soaking really difficult stains and molds, its not uncommon for collectors to leave their ponies in the bath for hours.
Do not boil so softs, or expose princess ponies, ponies with glittery symbols, ponies with plastic attachments, and ponies with moving or electronic parts to water. This may ruin them. The OxiClean can also take the finish off of pony eyes and the pearlized paint off off twinkle eyes and will cause chartreuse and neon hair to bleed and stain vinyl, hair, and flocking. Color changing hair will melt when exposed to heat.
In case you've ever wondered, these products are just Hydrogen Peroxide and washing soda: What percent hydrogen peroxide is Oxyclean equivalent to?
Available at Twin Pines of Maine, this unfortunately named product is used for removing stains from vinyl toys. It is not an acne preventative medication. MLP collectors don't recommend using this anymore because of how badly it can discolor dyed vinyl. It can also transfer onto other ponies and cause them to fade. The reason for this is explained on the manufacturer's website:
"Most vinyl plastics are normally colored by adding metal oxide pigments to the plastic mass before it is molded. When vinyl compounds colored in this way are treated with REMOVE-ZIT to remove a stain the pigment is not affected by the treatment and the stain is removed.
Another way to color some vinyl compounds is simply to add a dye to the plastic mass before it is molded. When vinyl compounds colored in this way are treated with REMOVE-ZIT the stain is removed but in many cases so is the dye used to color the vinyl. Strictly speaking, a dye is a stain and REMOVE-ZIT is an efficient stain remover."
This product is commonly used in the doll community and can work great for some toys, but don't use it on My Little Ponies. Photo courtesy KitKatVintage.
Available in liquid and spray forms, Mod Podge can be used to seal paint but tends to remain sticky after it dries.
Testors Dull Cote and Mr. Super Clear both dry flat.
My personal preferance is to spray mod podge on a pony before painting, to help the paint adhere to the vinyl, and then again after I'm finished painting. Then I finish with two coats of a flat spray for the sealer.
This website is intended for adult collectors of My Little Pony. Research all materials before trying any of the techniques suggested. Many of them have side effects you will want to know about.
Many of the restoration techniques discussed involve chemicals, sharp objects, and heat. Several of the materials can cause chemical burns. Wear gloves when handling chemicals and work in a well ventilated area. Wear a dust mask as needed. Never work with chemicals near an open flame, several of the techniques involve flammable materials. Do not pour chemicals down the drain. Check with your municipality for the proper way to dispose of left-over chemicals.
Different brands of essentially the same product, this is used for removing marks, de-flocking so soft ponies, and removing unwanted glue from pony bodies. Avoid painted areas as it will remove them. Solvents damage PVC, so don't leave your ponies exposed to it for extended periods and rinse it off once you're finished.
This is used for bleaching hair and various brands can be found at beauty supply stores. It helps to speed the process of sunfading when applied to stains and discoloration and is the only product known to remove cancer/brown spots. It needs to be exposed to the sun, but some collectors have experimented with using UV bulbes. Paint the creme on the area you wish to fade. Either wrap the pony in saran wrap or re-apply the cream daily. Leave the pony in the sun until you've achieved your desired results. This is also available in weaker formulas. Do not paint this product over tinsel, twinkle eyes, or glitter.
- Acetone - Acne Creams - Adhesives - Apoxie Sculpt - Bleach -
- Casting Kits - Clay Tools - Combs - Dawn Dish Detergent - Fabric Softener -
- Formula 911 - Goo Gone/Goof Off - Hairspray - Heat - Hemostats - Hydrogen Peroxide -
- Jasco - Magic Erasers - Milliput Epoxy Putty - Nail Polish Remover - Nylon - OxiClean -
- Paints - Paint Brushes - Polyvinyl Chloride - Powders - Re-Hairing Tools - Remove-Zit -
- Salon 40 Creme Developer - Sealers - Styling Irons - UV Bulbs - Where To Buy -
Can be used for sculpting missing, broken, and chewed on body parts, as well as accessories and playset parts. It dries on it's own once mixed and exposed to air, but the process is slow enough to give you lots of time to work. It can be sanded and painted once dry.
Found in acne treatments usually containing 10% benzyl peroxide (C₁₄H₁₀O₄); these products are commonly used to remove stains from various vinyl toys. Do not use this technique on My Little Ponies. It is safe for pigmented vinyl, which is why you will see it pop up in various toy collector communities. My Little Ponies are made with dyed vinyl, which fades and yellows when exposed to this chemical. The damage is slow to show up and many collectors have bought and sold ponies before realizing that they were fading. It can also leach onto a fade other ponies if they are touching.
By far, boring plastic combs are the safest to use on pony hair. Many human and doll brushes will make their hair frizzy. Avoid stretching the hair during combing to help prevent frizz.
These can be helpful when working with materials like Apoxy Sculpt and Milliput.
When I say Dawn, I mean DAWN. There's just something about this brand that other brands don't have.
Not recommended as it can cause nylon hair to yellow over time.
"When vinyl compounds are heated to 200 degrees F chlorine begins to be liberated form the plastic as hydrogen chloride (HCl). Heat degradation begins with a loss of less than 0.1% hydrogen chloride. . . The evolution of HCl actually accelerates the decomposition of vinyl by causing more HCl to be liberated. . . the process accelerates by itself (in domino fashion) until the vinyl is destroyed." - from Vinyl Dolls
Heat is useful for things like de-frizzing hair and cleaning ponies, but avoid putting the body in water hot enough to boil, which is actually a higher temperature than the temp at whcih vinyl is damaged. Pony hair is nylon so it can handle higher temperatures. I usually play it safe and don't put my pony's body in water that is hot enough to burn skin.
A type of forceps that are invaluable at getting inside a pony's body to remove old hair and pull new tails through the opening in the pony's rear. The curved kind are particularly useful for getting inside a pony's head.
Available at most pharmacies, Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) is chemically compatible with vinyl, but not nylon. It can be used for disinfecting, whitening, brightening, removing spots, and can even be used for fading age (cancer) spots and cleaning leaking plasticiser. It seems to only work to fade spots and discoloration when exposed to the sun. Prolonged exposure to the sun can cause fading usually to the pony's painted areas and hair. Hydrogen Peroxide is often safe to use on glitter symbols when other cleaning products aren't, but this always depends on the glue. It can loosen glue, and will damage nylon hair. It will cause chartreuse and neon hair to bleed and stain vinyl, will remove the glaze from twinkle eyes, and may harden the pony's body.
Used for de-flocking so soft ponies. It will remove paint on a pony, but not as easily as acetone does. It can be used over symbols during de-flocking if you're careful and don't rub too hard.
This is great for removing scuffs and stains off a pony's body. Also, when a pony's symbols and eyes are too far gone to be touched up and you need to completely remove them for a re-painting job, rubbing them with a Q-tip dipped in nail polish remover will take the paint right off. This is true for all types of sympols, both paint and glitter. Depending on the type of polish remover you choose to use, acetone is damaging toPVC, so don't leave your ponies exposed to it for extended periods and rinse it off once you're finished.
With a few exceptions, original pony hair of all generations is made of nylon.
Hydrogen Peroxide is the active ingredient in Oxi Clean and 40 Volume Creme Developer. Wipes are great for a quick general cleaning of ponies and playsets.
Acrylic paint works well for restorations. It's permanent but can be removed from vinyl once dry with acetone or rubbing alcohol. It's safe for use on PVC and doesn't present the same issues with bleeding and its pigments separating that enamels and oils can have. Some collectors prefer artist quality acrylic paints, while others prefer the less expensive acrylic craft paints.
What Is Acrylic Paint? Complete Introduction for Acrylic Paints
Pearlizing mediums, metallic craft paints, and glazes of different sheens can all be found in the same section of the craft store as the acrylic paints.
It can be difficult for paint to adhere to PVC and some collectors have had problems with paint peeling off their ponies over time. You can improve this by cleaning off any oils or plasticizer that may be on the pony's body and lightly sanding the area you wish to paint. Applying acetone also makes the pores in the PVC open and can help improve adhesion (but don't leave it on very long as PVC reacts badly to acetone). I spray the vinyl with mod podge before painting to help the acrylic stick.
If you are working on a project that you are afraid may experience paint bleeding:
"When reapplying cosmetic features you can prevent future bleeding of the paint by mixing the (acrylic) paint with a product called Fabric Medium available in Craft and Art Supply stores. Mix two-thirds Fabric Medium with one-third paint." - Twin Pines
Photo courtesy Whippetluv.
It's definitely worth investing in quality paint brushes. Make-up brushes can be useful for getting certain effects and applying blush. Brushes described as "fine detail" and "miniature detail" are good for painting fine details.
Polyvinyl Chloride, or PVC, is the type of plastic used to make ponies' bodies. It has good chemical compatibility with a lot of products, but is sensitive to humidity and UV exposure. Plasticisers are chemicals added to PVC to make it soft and bendable so that it can be molded into toys. Plasticized PVC is extremely common and has many uses. Many of the links you'll find on this site refer to PVC pipes. It's difficult to find information specific to toys, but many of the additives are the same and I haven't found any articles stating that PVC with plasticiser has a significant difference to PVC without it or in lower concentrations.
Photostabilization of poly(vinyl chloride) – Still On The Run
Plasticisers Chemical Resistance
PVC CHEMICAL RESISTANCE CHART PVC Chemical Compatibility
The use of powders on PVC can encourage the growth of fungus. Powders such as talc, baking soda, and especially cornstarch will absorb migrating plasticizer and give fungus lots on which to feed.
Available in different styles, these are used for re-hairing ponies. The same sellers who provide hair also offer these tools.
They're also relatively easy to make with a needle and an exacto knife handle. Cut the needle at an angle (my husband uses either tin snips or a dremmel) and attach it to the inside of the handle. Depending on the type of handle you have, you may or may not need to secure it with a dab of glue. It's been recommended to me that 24 gauge embroidery needles work well for re-hairing tools.
Can be used for sunfading instead of placing the item outdoors under the actual sun.
Desert UVB bulbs for reptiles and santizing boxes can work well. You can also create your own using UV strip lights, a storage tote, aluminum foil, and tape. Information courtesy Anna B-L.
The products discussed on this site are mostly U.S. brands. They can be found at stores that sell cleaning supplies, craft stores, hardware stores, and Amazon. If you are looking for the equivalent in another country, ask on the MLP Restoration Tips & Tricks Facebook group or the My Little Pony Restorations and Customs group as they can often be of help.
Twin Pines of Maine makes high quality products specifically formulated for dolls and doll accessories. They've unfairly gotten a bad reputation with MLP collectors due to the damage caused by Remove-Zit. However, their website is clear that this product is for pigmented vinyl. When this product was popular pony collectors weren't yet aware that ponies are made of dyed vinyl. I use their products all the time, just read the directions.
Materials & Directions
Make sure to research the set of ponies you are working on. Various materials will respond differently to the same restoration technique and not all ponies, accessories, and playsets are the same. Metal parts may not do well in water and plastic can melt. Chartreuse and neon hair colors will bleed and cause staining when exposed to some products. If in doubt, ask for advice about your project on one of the restoration Facebook groups (see Resources) or test products on an inconspicuous area before proceeding.
Many collectors also use Tacky Glue, Elmer's Glue, and Rubber Cement for various projects..
Milliput is a versatile epoxy sealant that is highly adhesive to most materials. It can be sculpted and once cured, can be drilled, filed, sawed, sanded, and painted.
For straightening frizzy hair, straightening tinsel, and crimping hair. Be careful as they can melt the hair and tinsel if the setting is too high. Dampen the pony's hair, add a lot of conditioner and set the iron to low when using these tools. Don't use heat on color changing hair as it will melt.
Most collectors don't recommend curing pony hair with a curling iron as the prolonged heat exposure can cause it to become frizzy.
This is very different from Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) which is considered safe.
See: When To Use Acne Cream on a MLP (Please note, while the information and images provided at this link are accurate, she classifies Remove-Zit as an acne cream. It's not and has it's own section on this page.) Image courtesy Pipsa Palonen.
This used to be commonly recommended to soften and help with frizz. Collectors who have used it are now reporting that over time it causes pony hair to become brittle and possibly can encourage the growth of mold as it's difficult to completely rinse out.
Available from Twin Pines this is a cleaner that is excellent at removing leaching plasticizer and can be used for general cleaning. It can also remove surface stains. It will also remove paint and soften adhesives so be cautious and read the directions.
