Removing symbols and glitter

You will need ~

1. Nail polish remover. The brand I use is Acetone free, and was purchased at the local supermarket. 2. Prepped pony. 3. A couple of cotton pads. I usually get a pack of 100 at the $2 shop for makeup, ponies etc.

Symbol removal has to be done in a WELL VENTILATED AREA. Ideally do it outside, otherwise open up all the windows. Even though my nail polish remover is acetone free, it still has a strong smell. Solvents are very bad for your respiratory system - I once had an art teacher who had emphasema from using solvents/paints without protection, back in the '60s. Its not a pretty thing to have.

First, soak a cotton pad with nail polish remover. Use a generous amount ^^

Hold your thouroughly soaked cotton pad onto the pony's cutie mark and press hard. Press and hold for about 2 minutes, and this will cause the ink to start dissolving.

After the 2 minutes is up, use a bit of elbow grease and totally mush around the cotton pad, pressing really hard and scrubbing the symbol off. Pressing hard is the key, and the fact that your cotton pad is swimming in nail polish remover will mean that the paint won't stain the pony's vinyl.

For this particular pony, I scrub the entire leg and rump.

And voila! One clean rump.

Now its time to remove the hoof-heart symbol. Turn your cotton pad around, and press the unused side onto the heart. Hold for another 2 minutes.

We can see the heart beginning to disolve. Rub it some more with the cotton pad, and it should come off cleanly!

A nice clean hoof ^^ Notice the dark marks on the tip of the back hoof - This is how the pony was when I removed her from the packaging. White ponies especially tend to have these dirt marks on them from the factory process. Just wipe them off with a teeny bit of nail polish remover :)

Now its time to remove the pesky glitter from her face.

Take your other remaining unused cotton pad and slather it with nail polish remover, then press and hold it onto the glittered area. Hold it there for about 3 minutes this time, making sure the the entire area is DRIPPING with nail polish remover.

Once the area is thoroughly soaked, gently scrape the glitter off with your nail. It will come off easily because the nail polish remover would have loosened the glue. I am sure there is probably another tool which could potentially be used for this step, but I prefer to use my nails as I have 100% control over the pressure I use.

Scratchy scratch!

And now you have one flawlessly clean pony head! I leave the eyes alone, and just paint over them later. It provides a good guide to follow ^^

She is now a totally nakie pony, ready for customising. Give her a quick rinse under the tap to get rid of stray glitter and extra nailpolish remover ^^