Bleaching

Caseysealia

Dollar Store Baby Fakie
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
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Out of curiosity when bleaching ponies, should you soak them, or can you do a lesser clean with it? I often take a Q-tip, water down my bleach, and swipe it across certain areas of the ponies. Is this bad? I don't want to bleach them severely or damage hair. I also clean it off with water right after.
So is it it bad to bleach it in patches, even if it's watered down and cleaned off right away? I just don't know if I'm doing it right. Any insight would be great! :smile: Also, there's so much controversy about bleach. I don't even know if I should use it, even if it is watered down.
 
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What are you trying to accomplish by bleaching them (cleaning or spot removal or...)? If it’s just for cleaning, I would say skip the bleach and just clean with dish soap. You can try magic eraser on stubborn spots too, if you are careful around the paint/glitter.

A diluted bleach solution the way you describe using it probably won’t hurt the ponies, but I’m not sure how much it would help either.

Elf
 
What are you trying to accomplish by bleaching them (cleaning or spot removal or...)? If it’s just for cleaning, I would say skip the bleach and just clean with dish soap. You can try magic eraser on stubborn spots too, if you are careful around the paint/glitter.

A diluted bleach solution the way you describe using it probably won’t hurt the ponies, but I’m not sure how much it would help either.

Elf
Thanks! Sometimes for clean, other times it's to prevent stuff.
 
Bleach is generally a no-no, what are you trying to prevent?
 
Bleach is generally a no-no, what are you trying to prevent?
Typically cancer spreading. I've heard it can help. Like I said, it's so watered down, and I clean it off pretty fast. What kind of damage can it do/how fast can it damage? Soaking is usually a no go. I use baking soda and vinegar, as well as toothpaste on a regular basis. Bleach is just to prevent mold/cancer.
 
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Typically cancer spreading. I've heard it can help. Like I said, it's so watered down, and I clean it off pretty fast. What kind of damage can it do/how fast can it damage? Soaking is usually a no go. I use baking soda and vinegar, as well as toothpaste on a regular basis. Bleach is just to prevent mold/cancer.
There are other methods that you can use to stop mold spreading (boiling, disinfecting) that are less iffy than bleaching.
 
There are other methods that you can use to stop mold spreading (boiling, disinfecting) that are less iffy than bleaching.
What does iffy mean tho. Does it maybe depend on the pony? I had a Princess Serena figure that had the typical head yellowing, that bleaching helped fixed. I've been doing it since fall, with no problems. What is the damage it could cause? I just don't want to make this mistake in the future lol.
 
Iffy just means that it's a method that can have serious repercussions down the line. It's great that you've had some success, but as we've seen with how Acne Cream is now a shunned method of restoration many methods that may seem fine now can have negative effects years later.
 
Iffy means "uncertain, questionable, dubious", in the context that we are not certain what damage bleach can cause to a pony. Not now, but it a future (sometimes not so far away).

I've seen horrible cases of ponies treated both with bleach and or another whitening (unyellowing) things (acne creams, for example) where they finished with terrible bleached and decolorated spots on them.

Edit to add:

Usual %of bleach in a water solution (those found at a store for home cleaning) is about 5.5%, and it still is corrosive (the bottles that contain it are heavy plastic).
 
Iffy just means that it's a method that can have serious repercussions down the line. It's great that you've had some success, but as we've seen with how Acne Cream is now a shunned method of restoration many methods that may seem fine now can have negative effects years later.
Very true. What about acetone though? You can't even touch it. (it terrifies me lol)
 
Iffy means "uncertain, questionable, dubious", in the context that we are not certain what damage bleach can cause to a pony. Not now, but it a future (sometimes not so far away).

I've seen horrible cases of ponies treated both with bleach and or another whitening (unyellowing) things (acne creams, for example) where they finished with terrible bleached and decolorated spots on them.

Edit to add:

Usual %of bleach in a water solution (those found at a store for home cleaning) is about 5.5%, and it still is corrosive (the bottles that contain it are heavy plastic).
How long until you notice things? I know bleach damages carpet very fast.
I don't quite understand the last part. There's plastic in bleach? I'm sorry if I sound dumb.
 
I think a concern with bleach is you'd only want to use it on white ponies, and even then you might need to consider that the bleach may break down the plastic over time?

I'd keep a close eye on the ponies you used bleach on, don't resell them to collectors and see if there's any discoloration or weak spots eventually over time
 
I use acetone on mostly G3’s that for whatever reason have paint scuffs on random places . I’m not sure if acetone is bad and I wonder the same thing myself ...
Well, being the only thing that get's the flocking ff So Softs, I'd use it for that. I wouldn't else where though. But these ponies are so old that I don't even know haha
 
I think a concern with bleach is you'd only want to use it on white ponies, and even then you might need to consider that the bleach may break down the plastic over time?

I'd keep a close eye on the ponies you used bleach on, don't resell them to collectors and see if there's any discoloration or weak spots eventually over time
Lol I'm never selling them, and I'd definately mention it. Honestly, I would of thought bleach would help prevent it, but I dunno.....
 
Thanks guys! I mentioned this to a relative who uses bleach everyday, and they said the bleach is fine, I would of noticed problems right away, because bleach works so fast, and being that the smell is fading already. I didn't soak it for full hours in pure bleach, just swipes of it. Bleach is recommended for a lot of plastic I guess? Acetone, boiling, and peroxide all seem worrisome too. But I won't do it in the future unless I have to. I really appreciate the insight!

Edit: I looked up old forums here on this site. People have said as long as it's not soaked for more than 15 minutes, it should be fine. And being that soaking isn't my thing, I hope it's all ok. I'm pretty worried now tho, cause it's my collection.
 
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How long until you notice things? I know bleach damages carpet very fast.
I don't quite understand the last part. There's plastic in bleach? I'm sorry if I sound dumb.

I was refering to the containers where bleach is kept =) So far I've only seen it being kept in hard (thick) plastic containers, and most are white containers.

And to answer the first question: That's the doubt we all have, we have no idea how long it'll take to know bleach affecting ponies, and to which degree, for now we know that acne creams are a big no for treating ponies. Even while cleaned and bathing to clean the cream it keeps acting (reacting) with the plastic, but for how long it'll continue is a big doubt -.-

Thinner and acetone seems to only work with removing the paint of ponies, at least I haven't seen of them affecting the ponies' plastic (both acetone and thinner are organic compounds -chemistry-). And those we can buy are really watered down, so I'm less worried about them than with bleach =)
 
I was refering to the containers where bleach is kept =) So far I've only seen it being kept in hard (thick) plastic containers, and most are white containers.

And to answer the first question: That's the doubt we all have, we have no idea how long it'll take to know bleach affecting ponies, and to which degree, for now we know that acne creams are a big no for treating ponies. Even while cleaned and bathing to clean the cream it keeps acting (reacting) with the plastic, but for how long it'll continue is a big doubt -.-

Thinner and acetone seems to only work with removing the paint of ponies, at least I haven't seen of them affecting the ponies' plastic (both acetone and thinner are organic compounds -chemistry-). And those we can buy are really watered down, so I'm less worried about them than with bleach =)
Gee. You can touch bleach tho, vs acetone you can't. With bleach, it's something that works immediately. What about peroxide/sunfading/boiling? I would think they would all be toxic to the plastic. With the ponies being so old now, how would we know? So many questions. I found that at least with staining, it would of by now, so my worry at this point is breakdown. Which I used bleach in hopes that it would help prevent that, but I don't know if I'll ever know haha
 
Gee. You can touch bleach tho, vs acetone you can't.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information on acetone. You can touch acetone, just prolonged touching can be harmful. But the same can be said for bleach. Acetone is used to remove gel nail polish. It says on the bottle in front of me it may cause sensitive skin to become dry... Maybe that's what you're thinking? But, yes, your skin can come into contact with it and it will be OK. I've used it to take off nail polish on ponies and it's worked great and decades later I have seen no problems with my collection ponies and no after affects from it.
 
I'm not sure where you're getting your information on acetone. You can touch acetone, just prolonged touching can be harmful. But the same can be said for bleach. Acetone is used to remove gel nail polish. It says on the bottle in front of me it may cause sensitive skin to become dry... Maybe that's what you're thinking? But, yes, your skin can come into contact with it and it will be OK. I've used it to take off nail polish on ponies and it's worked great and decades later I have seen no problems with my collection ponies and no after affects from it.
Oh what a relief. I actually get info from collectors/site that say never touch it, so maybe it's a certain type? I've used nail polish remover and got slightly sick from the fumes, even with the window wide open.
 
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