Sun Fading with Hydrogen Peroxide

[Skybreeze]

I’ve noticed a lot of questions around sun fading ponies lately around various forms and social media. Back in April, I was given the opportunity to really test this method and I am happy to report that I am thrilled with how well it works.

Back in April I found a Baby Moondancer who had seen better days. She had a weird brown substance (almost like motor oil) all over her body and thus stained her body terribly. I tried my best to clean it out of her tail and mane but whatever was all over her just wouldn’t come out. In the end I have to purge all her hair.

Then I scrubbed her body with an Oxiclean paste to get the main “stickyness” off her. Then it was time to start my science experiment. We all know Oxiclean’s claim to fame is to whiten and bring out colours in faded clothes. So I placed Moondancer into a Hydrogen Peroxide soak with some of the Oxiclean paste on her still. This started a chemical reaction and started to foam over a few weeks. Once my mixure stopped foaming, I took my jar and cleaned it up and rinsed Moondancer.

Then it was time to start on her 100% Hydrogen Peroxide soak. She’s been soaking since April 17th in my window (literally forgot about her being there some days). I’m hoping in a month or two she will be free of all marks and evidence of her old life and I can give her new hair.

In all. It does take a very long time for this to work but if your willing to wait, it works wonders and you don’t have to worry about over exposing like you do Hydrogen Peroxide creams. (Which if you like me and would forget your head if it wasn’t attached is best.)

Here’s pictures to show her progress:

BEFORE April 2019:


AFTER October 2019:


1 Year Later April 2020:

 

[starbeam]

Wow! She looks so bright now!

 

[twishy]

She looks very white, it's a shame her eye color seems to have faded though. Wonder if that's the sun or what...

 

[Caseysealia]

Great job! I don't have the patience to do that

 

[ElpuntThing]

Woah! That's incredible, thanks for sharing!

 

[ElectricHarpsichord]

That's amazing! It's so nice to see her all prettied up.

 

[Skybreeze]

That's amazing! It's so nice to see her all prettied up.

She’s almost pretty again. Just have to wait for the last little bit of browning to go away.

Great job! I don't have the patience to do that

Bahaha! To be honest, I usually keep my curtains closed to help protect my collection from the light. So I’ve completely forgotten about her being there at times lol

She looks very white, it's a shame her eye color seems to have faded though. Wonder if that's the sun or what...

Yes, some paint colours can fade with long term time in a bath - but that’s nothing a tiny bit of paint won’t fix up nicely. And in her case, fading paint was the least of my worries.

 

[LittleFlurry]

Is this safe to do with colored ponies? Or only white ones?

 

[Skybreeze]

Is this safe to do with colored ponies? Or only white ones?

You can do it with coloured ponies but I wouldn’t recommend leaving them for as long as I have left this lady (whose still on my window sill-thanks to Canadian winter). Colours can and do fade when left for prolonged periods of time. If you look, Moondancer’s eyes are a very light purple now vs when I first put her in to fade.
Think of it like leaving a pony in the sun for years and years, eventually the sun does and can fade a pony’s colour.

My advice is to use caution when using this method with coloured ponies.

 

[LittleFlurry]

You can do it with coloured ponies but I wouldn’t recommend leaving them for as long as I have left this lady (whose still on my window sill-thanks to Canadian winter). Colours can and do fade when left for prolonged periods of time. If you look, Moondancer’s eyes are a very light purple now vs when I first put her in to fade.
Think of it like leaving a pony in the sun for years and years, eventually the sun does and can fade a pony’s colour.

My advice is to use caution when using this method with coloured ponies.

Thanks! I have some colored ponies that are badly stained. I'm currently working on sun fading them, but it will probably take a very long time with the cloudy weather in Ohio... I'm afraid of causing damage with harsher methods though.

 

[Skybreeze]

I tried an experiment with Trucker here. I got him I pretty rough shape, he had a noticeable head body mismatch (more obvious than photos).

I put him in an H2O2 bath for a three week period. he was in a glass jar. We’ve had more rain and overcast days than sun over this period. So, unfortunately he didn’t get as much sun as I would’ve preferred. He is much more blue now and a lot of his discolouration is more even now. I’m happy with the way he is and will display him as is now, not perfect and technically requires more sun fading but I don’t want his symbols to completely fade.

Before:

After:

 

[JadeCade]

Can you sunfade with their mane intact or does the color fade or leak onto the body?

 

[Skybreeze]

Can you sunfade with their mane intact or does the color fade or leak onto the body?

I did Trucker with his mane intact it didn’t fade much if at all. But unless your okay with the potential of the pony being ruined I wouldn’t recommend this with “neon” or bright colours. I’ve only ever done it with lighter colours (yellow, fading pink, purple, etc.)