Preservation of Pendok, Mendak and Bone

A. G. Maisey · 3rd January 2015, 08:34 PM

Jean, I'm surprised that you use alcohol on the ivory. Long ago and far away when I was just beginning with keris I didn't worry much about what I used to clean things, but I was fortunate to meet a fellow who was a collector of Japanese and Chinese ivory carvings, and it was this man who helped me quite a lot with ivory cleaning. He was of the opinion that alcohol had a drying effect on ivory, and in fact on most materials, and use of it could lead to cracking.

I don't know if this is true, because for more than 50 years I've never put anything near ivory that was not oil or water. Have you ever encountered any adverse effects with alcohol?

You mention a "stiff paint brush". What sort of paint brush is that?

I'd prefer to use a paint brush rather than a toothbrush, if I could find one that was stiff enough, but I have been unable to find a paint brush with stiff enough bristles.

The pusaka oil you use. Is this stuff you've made yourself, or sourced from Indonesia? All the Indonesian pusaka oil I've seen has used coconut oil as the base oil, which might be OK for ivory, I don't know, but I really detest the long term smell of coconut oil. You oil something up, put it away for a couple of years, and when you come back and look at it again the smell is disgusting.

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3rd January 2015, 08:34 PM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Jean, I'm surprised that you use alcohol on the ivory. Long ago and far away when I was just beginning with keris I didn't worry much about what I used to clean things, but I was fortunate to meet a fellow who was a collector of Japanese and Chinese ivory carvings, and it was this man who helped me quite a lot with ivory cleaning. He was of the opinion that alcohol had a drying effect on ivory, and in fact on most materials, and use of it could lead to cracking. I don't know if this is true, because for more than 50 years I've never put anything near ivory that was not oil or water. Have you ever encountered any adverse effects with alcohol? You mention a "stiff paint brush". What sort of paint brush is that? I'd prefer to use a paint brush rather than a toothbrush, if I could find one that was stiff enough, but I have been unable to find a paint brush with stiff enough bristles. The pusaka oil you use. Is this stuff you've made yourself, or sourced from Indonesia? All the Indonesian pusaka oil I've seen has used coconut oil as the base oil, which might be OK for ivory, I don't know, but I really detest the long term smell of coconut oil. You oil something up, put it away for a couple of years, and when you come back and look at it again the smell is disgusting.