Etching Fluid For Ivory

Take dilute sulphuric acid, dilute muriatic acid, equal parts: mix. For etching varnish take white wax,2 parts; tears of mastic, 2 parts: mix.

How To Gild Ivory

Immerse it in a solution of nitro-muriate of gold, and then expose it to hydrogen gas while damp. Wash it afterwards in clean water.

How To Soften Ivory

In 3 oz. spirits of nitre, and 15 oz. of spring water, mixed together, put your ivory to soak; and in three or four days it will obey your fingers.

How To Whiten Ivory

Slack some lime in water; put your ivory in that water, after being decanted from the grounds, and boil it till it looks quite white. To polish it afterwards, set it in the turner's wheel; and, after having worked, take rushes and pumice stones, subtile powder, with water, and rub it till it looks perfectly smooth. Next to that, heat it by turning it against a piece of linen or sheepskin leather; and, when hot, rub it over with a little whitening dilated in oil of olive; then, with a little dry whitening alone; finally with a piece of soft white rag. When all this is performed as directed, the ivory will look very white.

Another Way To Bleach Ivory

Take 2 handfuls of lime.

Slake It By Sprinkling It With Water; Then Add 3 Pints Of Water, And Stir The Whole Together; Let It Settle Ten Minutes, And Pour The Water Into A Pan For Your Purpose. Then Take Your Ivory And Steep It In The Lime water for 24 hours, after which, boil it in a strong alum-water for 1 hour, and dry it in the air.