Finishing ivories

[Sarah Fox]

Hi Stephane,

> I'll try to find some Turtle wax here, and try to improve my work.

"Turtle Wax" is a brand name.  Be sure you get polishing compound of
whatever brand (i.e. with an ultra-fine abrasive), not a wax!  ;-)

>From what you describe in your original posting, it sounds as though your
scratches might be the larger ones, e.g. from the 220 grit sandpaper.  It's
important, as you're working your way from coarser to finer grades of
sandpaper, to sand out all of the scratches *completely* from the previous
round of sanding before moving on to the next finer grade of sandpaper.
Still finer grades typically will not take out the coarser scratches.

I've never polished ivories before (but will be doing it very soon).
However, I've polished lots of other things, and polishing is polishing.
Off hand, I would suggest finishing each round of sanding by leaving only
crosswise scratches (perpendicular to lengthwise).  As you're sanding with
the next finer grit of sandpaper, you will see those scratches very clearly
(in opposition to the finer lengthwise scratches you are leaving), until
they are gone.  Then you sand out the (finer) lengthwise scratches with
crosswise scratches and move to the next finer grade.  As you move to each
new grade of sandpaper, be sure not to use *fresh* paper.  Fresh paper has
inconsistencies in the abraisive that will leave relatively deep scratches.
Before touching the ivory with new paper, take the initial "bite" out of the
paper (knocking/breaking off the larger abrasive particles) by sanding
something else, like a block of wood.  Also, avoid using too much pressure.

You'll get more consistency if you can sand the surface flat (if it's not
cupped and/or you can safely remove that much material).  David Love's
suggestion is a good one (using a thich piece of glass as the sanding
plane).  You may want to pad the paper just a little bit, perhaps with a
layer of thick cloth or felt between it and the glass.

If you want to try TP's suggestion of scraping with a razor, you might try a
beveled razor, used by oboists and basoonists to shave their reeds.  It's
quite a bit sturdier than a razor blade and is made for the job.  Hint:
alternate the orientation of the blade with each stroke, so that you don't
create ridges or grooves.

Finally, someone suggested steel wool.  However, steel wool can leave tiny
iron deposits in the pores of the ivory, which can later oxidize and
discolor the ivory.  Abrasives, on the other hand, are chemically stable.
This happens a lot in furniture refinishing.

Again, I have no specific experience with regard to ivories (yet), so I'm
only discussing general polishing techniques.  I suspect Joe Garrett knows
more than any of us about polishing ivories.  Has he responded yet?

Peace,
Sarah