G1 What should I do with the flocking on this Wind Whistler?

[blured]

Hello! I recently picked up a So Soft Wind Whistler but most of their flocking has come off. In terms of monetary value, what would be the best approach to restore them? Should I deflock, attempt to reflock, or keep the flocking as is but clean it?

 

[kingluke]

Personally, I would reflock her.

I'm no professional but maybe you could test reflocking on a small part. If it doesn't work, you might want to deflock her.

 

[Gingerbread]

She is pretty far gone, when you say "in terms of monetary value" I guess it depends on if you mean for reselling or cost to restore and keep for yourself. Seeing as WW is a fairly common pony I think if you were looking to sell her you would get more if you did a really good job deflocking her than reflocking her. Finding a nicely flocked unrestored WW wouldn't be too hard but there is a niche for deflocked SS and I think given that she isn't too HTF you might get more if you repinked her hair and did a good deflocking. Collectors looking for NSS or alternatives to some foreign releases would probably be more interested then someone buying a reflocked fairly common pony. Now, if she were a SS Twilight or Crumpet I would probably lean towards reflocking.
However, if this is for you to keep, I would say the cost to do either job is probably about the same so it's more a matter of your own preference.
In her current state I don't think you'd get much for her. As is you're pretty much looking at close to bait price so if you want more you'll probably need to do some restoration.

 

[chii]

Exactly what @Gingerbread said.

I'd personally deflock her. She's missing too much flocking for a quick patch job, honestly... (You could try, but I'm not sure how long she'd hold up. The old glue will probably yellow before the new glue does, but still show through. I've had some nightmare deflock jobs from ponies that fell into this category. Removing two layers of glue really stinks!)

That said, it looks like whoever started deflocking her gave up.
Either whoever started didn't have time/patience to compete the job or she has the "evil" glue.
I generally just use a warm-water bath with Oxy Clean and a scratcher. For pesky glue, I'll resort to Glue-Be-Gone.
So evil glue takes FOREVER for me to get rid of, but there are quicker methods.

Deflocked can sell for a bit more than re-flocked for a common pony like Wind Whistler, I think.
If you decide to keep her flocking and repink her hair, be careful! It's easy to dye the flocking in the process.

 

[LadyMoondancer]

If you're going to sell her anyway, I would leave her as-is. It's not really worth it, in terms of time spent, to either deflock her or reflock her. Like, your time is precious too and either way you won't make her much more valuable. (That said, deflocking would make her a little more valuable than reflocking. But not much because a "real" NSS Wind Whistler already exists (the UK one).)

 

[blured]

She is pretty far gone, when you say "in terms of monetary value" I guess it depends on if you mean for reselling or cost to restore and keep for yourself. Seeing as WW is a fairly common pony I think if you were looking to sell her you would get more if you did a really good job deflocking her than reflocking her. Finding a nicely flocked unrestored WW wouldn't be too hard but there is a niche for deflocked SS and I think given that she isn't too HTF you might get more if you repinked her hair and did a good deflocking. Collectors looking for NSS or alternatives to some foreign releases would probably be more interested then someone buying a reflocked fairly common pony. Now, if she were a SS Twilight or Crumpet I would probably lean towards reflocking.
However, if this is for you to keep, I would say the cost to do either job is probably about the same so it's more a matter of your own preference.
In her current state I don't think you'd get much for her. As is you're pretty much looking at close to bait price so if you want more you'll probably need to do some restoration.

I'm sorry, I should have clarified that I meant which option would make her more valuable for reselling!

Thank you all for your advice!

 

[SoSoftClaire]

Reflocking (never attempted myself) and deflocking (have done several) are both time consuming. Based on how much flocking she has missing already and how common she is, I recommend deflocking, repinking, styling, and selling.

( Edited to add: another point for deflocking is the existing flocking is not very fluffy so you will have a big difference in the new flocked parts vs the already existing flocking. To make her look nice as a reflocked SS, you might have to deflock her all the way anyway, and relook the entire pony. The only cool thing I can imagine is a really cute color flocking that would make her different somehow? But I do not recommend that.)

Deflocks when done well can fetch a good price. Again, if there wasn’t already a NSS version (UK version) she would probably be worth more deflocked. However, you will still get more for her fully deflocked and repinked than you will as is.

If you already have the supplies and the skill, I recommend 1. Deflock 2. Repink 3. Style then sell. However, if you would have to buy the supplies, it won’t be worth it monetarily speaking.