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There are only two good ways that I know of for changing the color of a pony. One is dyeing her. Though there may be many other possible brands to use, the one that I like is RIT Dye. This can be purchased at any average store like WalMart, K-Mart, Target or stores of similar nature. It costs about 2-3 dollars a box and one box is more than enough to dye several to many ponies. (I haven't reached the limit because I got sick of the color first!) RIT comes in colors like black, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, pink and red, however unless you are dyeing a white or other light colored pony, colors like yellow and pink aren't likely to work because the original darker color will override the lighter dye. The first thing you want to do is make sure that you pony is clean. The dye-job will be bad if you use a dirty pony. Second, you want to make sure that all the paint except perhaps the eyes is removed. This is because the paint affects the dye job. Using a paint removal method as described in the "marks" section of this tutorial should do a good job. If all the paint is not removed when the pony is dyed her vinyl will become one color and the paint will barely dye at all. If you then remove the paint you will have an area of her body more like her original color. This is even true for cheek blush and I recommend that you remove that before dying a pony, because as much as we all like it, the blush just won't look right after you have dyed her. The last step in pony prep is to separate the head and body for dying. Even if you aren't planning on taking out the mane and tail, this part is important because of the water effect. I shall explain. In the last batch of ponies I did, I got lazy and didn't take the heads off of two of my ponies before I dyed them. I just put them in and even though they floated I kept flipping them so they would get an even dye job. After they had been properly rinsed, dried, coifed and painted with new symbols I stored them in plastic bags to keep them clean until I was ready to auction them. When I went to scan them I opened the box they were in only to find the bags filled with condensation! :p I took them out and their manes and tails were wet and plastered to their bodies and where this had happened their bodies had darker discolorations. What had happened was dye-water had gotten inside through the tail, mane and neck and had stayed in there. While the ponies had seemed dry when standing, laying on their side caused the water to come out through their hair and add dye to the hair causing it to dye their bodies darker anywhere it touched. I was very grumpy at myself and had to re-dye and paint both of them. Moral of the story: separate heads and bodies before dyeing!
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OK, so enough with the prep, on to the dyeing process! If you are careful, you can do this inside, but if you are worried about stains on floors, countertops etc. it is better to do this out in a garage or outside (weather permitting). This should either be done in a metal pot (I do not suggest Teflon coated pots) or glass bowl, neither of which will stain, or a dedicated plastic container which you don't mind having funny colors. (I just went and bought a Rubbermaid gallon container so that I could have something with a lid for various transport.) Once you know what you are going to dye in, heat 3 quarts of water until its very hot, but not near boiling. It is important that the water isn't too hot because some pony pieces (like the flutter apparatus of flutter ponies) will melt if the water is too hot. Put the water into the container you are planning to dye in and add the package of dye. Stir with something metal or something you don't mind dyeing and make sure that all (or most) of the dye granules have dissolved. Wait at least a minute after you have taken it off the stove before you put a pony in, but don't wait too long. Place the pony in gently so that you don't splash (in 2 pieces remember!) and let her sit down there for several minutes, every now and then stirring and flipping her. Take her out about once a minute to check the color. If you are going for a light color then don't leave her in long. (NOTE: White ponies tend to come out one color and after a few days turn to a lighter shade. It's very peculiar, and I have found this to be especially true with Sundance.) When she is to the color you like, take out her head and body and proceed to rinse her very thoroughly. If you have dyed her without hair then rinse her inside and out until the water runs clear with hot/warm water. If she has hair, rinse her until the water runs almost clear then shampoo, rinse, shampoo, rinse and shampoo a final time, then condition and style as you would normally. Tada! You have just dyed a pony a new color! :) When you are done, if you did this in a metal pot you may find that the inside is slightly tinged the color you were dying with. This is not because the metal has been dyed, but because mineral deposits on the inside of the pot were dyed. To get rid of this simply take a green (or whatever color) scrubby (you know, those really abrasive ones) and clean out the inside of the pot. It won't hurt the pot and will get rid of those mineral deposits, doing yourself and your family a favor.
Paint and dye are the two methods of coloring that I know of. There is of course marker. I mean if it makes lasting and ruining marks on ponies, it can of could of course be used to change their whole color, but though I have not tried it, this method does not seem to lend itself to reliability and I am wary of it. If you try it though, please write me and tell me the results. :)