Customizing questions from a newbie

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

So, my mom, my aunt, and I were at my late grandparents' house over the weekend, and I happened upon a Sugar Sweet that my cousin owned. My cousin gave me permission to swipe her. Sadly, from what I can tell, I think she has pony cancer. Here's a gallery of the poor girl in question. It's on my Facebook page, and the gallery is public, so I hope you're able to see it.

She'd been stashed in a plastic bin with other toys, and my grandparents' house got hit pretty hard when Katrina came through several years ago. Her mane was all matted and moldy, so I went ahead and de-haired her. I've since given her a diluted bleach bath to kill any lingering bacteria and mold that might have been clinging on. I'm thinking of customizing her, and I have a few questions.

1) Is it pony cancer that she's suffering from?
2) If it is cancer, since I did use bleach to sanitize her, if I give her a good, soapy bath or two beforehand, will it affect any future painting that I do?
3) I've heard a lot of dissenting opinions, so what is the general accepted method of removing symbols without damaging the pony?
4) I'm thinking of giving her mane a stripe like Glory and Moondancer, so how much of the head needs to be re-haired? Do I just need to do it on one side or both?

That's all the questions I can think of for now, so I hope someone can assist me with this.

[cannibalcow]

i am not sure if that is cancer or just water damage, either way i have no idea what it will do to the paint. probably nothing.

3) pure acetone is excellent

4) honestly i would rehair both sides anyways. IMO she will look much better then

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

So, I shouldn't need to worry about the acetone affecting future symbols, provided I give it a really good cleaning afterwards?

[Skeen]

Nope, you should be fine after a good wipedown with soap and water after.

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

Great! Just out of curiosity, how would nail polish work? Would it be as effective?

I'm thinking that I'll repaint her yellow. I really like Magic Star and Masquerade's shade of yellow.

What colors would be good to get that shade, and how much will she brighten or darken after the paint dries? Or is that something I'll just have to play with?

[cannibalcow]

i tried nail polish remover once. once! it's awful. it left big ugly smooches of coulour all over her


as for the painting, if you buy acetone you can paint her a little and see how that goes and use the acetone to remove it if you're not happy

[KaylaTheHedgehog]

While I'm repainting, is there a way to protect the holes on the head so they don't get covered too badly?

[cannibalcow]

her hairplugs? you could poke the holes back open with a needle? might be easier to repaint her after you rehair. rehairing is very hard on the pony's plastic and it bends and makes the paint wrinkly. atleast i paint after i rehair, but i don't know what other people do

[Salli]

Ditto on what cannibalcow said.

Use acetone, then wash well with soap and allow to dry throughly inside and out.

Use Acrylic paint (they cost like 50 cents at Joanns) and I just started using those little triangle makeup sponges ($2 per package) to put on the base coat and I am SOOOOOOO happy with it. I does look like I airbrushed it. I will be using these for a while until I can get a new airbrush (mine is such a pain). I dab the paint on in thin layers and let each layer dry thoroughly.

Don't worry about the hair holes at all, just use a needle or a thin picture nail to re-open the holes. It will make rehairing easier if you do this anyway. Good luck and post her when you get her done

[cannibalcow]

i totally agree with the sponge. i used a sponge on a custom once and it looks really neat. it took a little fail and try for me when i did it, but i am happy with the result