Cleaning and restoring ponies can sometimes be tricky. Here are some tips for making your pony look as good as new. I've collected these tips from sites over the internet and from the alt.toys.my-little-pony newsgroup. My goal is to create one source for cleaning and restoring ideas. If you have any tips for cleaning that aren't listed here, please send them to me!! I personally have not tried most of these ideas, so I cannot vouch for what it will exactly do to your pony. However, there are some really good ideas here, so enjoy and good luck!

On General Cleaning

  • WD-40 or Goo Gone work really well to take off sticky tape from price stickers etc. - they will also remove other marks and residue. Warning: Goo Gone warns not to use the product on anything made of rubber or vinyl. There must be a reason for that...

  • Warm soapy water and a small amount of bleach work wonders to clean up the ponies nicely without a lot of hard scrubbing.

  • Some other recommended products to remove stains and buildup include Remove-Zit and Formula 9-1-1 from Pine Tree Products (before writing to me about them - I don't know anything more than the name and company myself).

  • If a pony has cigarette damage try smoker's toothpaste. Bleach will work on white buildings like the Show Stable. Soak the pony in water and baking soda to remove the smell. This is perfectly harmless to the ponies and will also soften their hair. You can also use it as a paste to remove stains.

  • Gusty tells me Woolite works wonders on So-Soft ponies to get them clean. This is something I plan to try soon. I'll let you know how it goes...

    On Marks and Blemishes

  • If you leave a pony with pen marks sitting in sunlight it will often fade or completely remove the pen mark. I have done this severaltimes and am always amazed at how well it works!

  • On white colored ponies you can put Clearasil on the marks. It will take a while but it will remove a lot of marks as well. Be wary of trying this on colored ponies. Even ones that looked fine faded to white spots where Clearasil was applied over an extended period of time.

  • Fingernail polish remover works well for many marks. However, it will also take off symbols and eye paint, so be careful! If nothing else works, get a nail file (the metal kind works better than an emery board) and file it off gently.

  • This tip was just sent to me via e-mail. Though I haven't had a chance to test it, it sounds like a great idea! Dava writes: I've been restoring ponies for quite some time, and I remove stains with Testors enamel thinner. You'll find it with model paints. Since it's made to clean paint, it "recognizes" the difference between old paint (eyes and symbols) and new paint (ink marks). With a light touch, you can safely take an ink mark off a symbol.

    On Hair Care

  • Use conditioner when you wash a pony's hair and it will come out softer and more manageable. Detanglers work especially well. If it has the frizzy hair, try a little hair gel after wetting the hair. Then allow it to dry before combing it out. Anytime you wash a pony's hair, be sure to let it dry thoroughly before packing it up or anything. Otherwise you will create that rust we find on many of the tail sections of the ponies.

  • Hair care: For very silky and shiny hair, add a tiny bit of hand lotion (too much will make it greasy) to dry hair.

  • Curling: I don't recomend using any kind of curler that uses heat -- the heat can damage your Pony. Instead, here's a great and easy way to restore curl to your Pony's hair: All you need are bobby pins, rubber bands and water. Get the Pony's hair wet. Slide the bobby pin over a section of hair near the end, and roll it to the top, so that the hair winds around the pin like a curler. Put the rubber band over both ends of the bobby pin, across the hair, to hold it that way. Use about 4 bobby pins on the mane and 4 on the tail for an adult. Let it dry very thoroughly, like overnight. You'll get lots of fluffy curls! Here's a similar method to get a crimped, wavy look. Get the hair wet, then braid it tightly. Let it dry overnight, then take it out of the braid. You can use more braids to make it fuller and more wavy!

  • To recurl the "Candy Cane" curls of the Rainbow Curls and Candy Cane Ponies:-
    1. Cut a McDonald's (or any straw but those are free) into four parts.
    2. Shape the curls over the straw and hold this hair in place with some bobby pins.
    3. Wet the hair and leave it for a few days.
    4. When it dries, slide the straw out and viola!
    I have used this method several times and am always amazed at how well it works!

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