Cleaning/brightening/whitening Bone Buttons ?

[Doug Barr]

Any ideas? I was told bleach will make them brittle. I tried a micro sanding to no avail. Doug

[sqzbxr]

A Google search indicates that a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution is commonly used for this. There are numerous online guides for this, suggest you read a number of them before proceeding.

[samper]

soap and warm water works quite well and then clean off with a scouring cloth, no need to bleach etc

[Greg Jowaisas]

Efferdent?

[Theo]

Mostly white concertina buttons are made of bone, occasionally on very old instruments they are ivory. Ivory is best left alone. Bone naturally has pores which contain dark, discoloured material, as far as I know there is nothing you can do to remove the dark pore marks. My recommendation is to use a very mild cleaner applied with a cloth to remove any surface build up, then just enjoy the patina of an instrument that has been around for perhaps a century. Avoid any process that includes soaking the buttons in cleaning solution. Prolonged contact with a water based solution will soften the surface, and raise the grain of the bone. The result may b cleaner looking buttons, but you will loose the lovely smooth polished surface which only comes from decades of use. The buttons will feel rough under the fingers, and may not work as smoothly as a result of extra friction where they pass through the end plate.

[d.elliott]

After a rather sad experience with a denture cleaning product, I never get keys wet, the bone lost it's sheen, and became rough to feel. All I ever do clean the buttons of any build up of debris, coagulated finger grease etc using a waxed chamois leather & dry cloth, often just a rub over will do.

 

I tend to think that steradent, & bleach etc, spoil the job cosmetically as well. Bright shiny white buttons = plastic??

 

Dave

[david robertson]

Some years ago, I experimentally put a bunch of bone buttons in a little net bag and put it through a cycle in the dishwasher - and have done so ever since. It doesn't really whiten them, but it does remove the accumulated muck of ages, without raising the grain or roughening the surface. When they are dry, I simply apply wax polish by putting each one in the chuck of a Dremel and spinning it in a waxed cloth.