Staining a Bone Carving - Tiki Carving

A AZpaniolo Member Joined: Nov 03, 2008 Posts: 7	A AZpaniolo Posted posted on Tue, Nov 25, 2008 3:00 PM I searched the archives for information on this topic and came up pretty much empty. I'd like to know what those of you who carve bone use to stain the engraved lines in your carvings. I'm a newbie and have just started carving Makau during the summer. I recently cleaned up some bone scrap and tried to make a pendant with a Hawaiian petroglyph engraved into it. I wanted to make the engraving stand out so I tried leaving the pendant in cold Lipton tea overnight. Got a very slight change in coloration but not the deep, dark lines inside the engraving that I wanted in order to make the petroglyph stand out. My preference would be to paint the stain directly onto the engraved lines I want to stand out on the pendant or Makau. It would be even better if whatever stain it is was water resistant so the piece could be worn swimming/surfing/bathing etc. without worry of the stain washing away. Any advice or suggestions from you experienced bone carvers would be much appreciated.
SU Sebastian Urresti Member Argentina Joined: Sep 20, 2007 Posts: 29	SU Sebastian Urresti Posted posted on Wed, Nov 26, 2008 8:30 AM Dear AZpaniolo, I am part of the forum but my last post was a long time ago, I always read it but I had nothing to share as we have a lot of MASTERS around here. This may help you on the long journey of bone carving, OF COURSE IS NOT MINE: "First clean the bone piece with alcohol. Then etch in a 33% acetic acid solution for 15 seconds. Rinse in clean water and take care to keep the item grease free, so handle with rubber gloves etc. Now make up a solution of Dylon dye of your chosen colour and add the specified amount of salt as a mordant. Dip the piece into the boiling solution for 15 seconds at a time. Once the desired depth of colour is reached rinse in warm water so as to avoid too much of a thermal shock to the piece. The colouration can at this stage be lightened or relieved by selective polishing. Finally soak the piece in baby oil ( or almond oil ) for 15 min. Wipe off the excess oil and buff to a high sheen with a clean cloth." My expierence say that you can use a brush in the desired part using the acetic acid or the "color". I live in Argentina, we do not have Dylon, so I use cold tea and works PERFECTLY. As long as taking bath and all that good stuff, maybe you can just lacquer the piece... That is an option. Well, Let´s hope that this works for you! Hugs, Sebas

I searched the archives for information on this topic and came up pretty much empty. I'd like to know what those of you who carve bone use to stain the engraved lines in your carvings. I'm a newbie and have just started carving Makau during the summer. I recently cleaned up some bone scrap and tried to make a pendant with a Hawaiian petroglyph engraved into it. I wanted to make the engraving stand out so I tried leaving the pendant in cold Lipton tea overnight. Got a very slight change in coloration but not the deep, dark lines inside the engraving that I wanted in order to make the petroglyph stand out. My preference would be to paint the stain directly onto the engraved lines I want to stand out on the pendant or Makau. It would be even better if whatever stain it is was water resistant so the piece could be worn swimming/surfing/bathing etc. without worry of the stain washing away. Any advice or suggestions from you experienced bone carvers would be much appreciated.

Dear AZpaniolo,
I am part of the forum but my last post was a long time ago, I always read it but I had nothing to share as we have a lot of MASTERS around here.
This may help you on the long journey of bone carving, OF COURSE IS NOT MINE:
"First clean the bone piece with alcohol. Then etch in a 33% acetic acid solution for 15 seconds. Rinse in clean water and take care to keep the item grease free, so handle with rubber gloves etc. Now make up a solution of Dylon dye of your chosen colour and add the specified amount of salt as a mordant. Dip the piece into the boiling solution for 15 seconds at a time. Once the desired depth of colour is reached rinse in warm water so as to avoid too much of a thermal shock to the piece. The colouration can at this stage be lightened or relieved by selective polishing. Finally soak the piece in baby oil ( or almond oil ) for 15 min. Wipe off the excess oil and buff to a high sheen with a clean cloth."
My expierence say that you can use a brush in the desired part using the acetic acid or the "color". I live in Argentina, we do not have Dylon, so I use cold tea and works PERFECTLY. As long as taking bath and all that good stuff, maybe you can just lacquer the piece... That is an option.
Well, Let´s hope that this works for you!
Hugs,
Sebas