bleach/whiten cut sections of deer antler.

[Nidhogg]

So I make jewelry out of bone I find while hiking and camping. I just started using deer sheds I've found as well. I cut the antlers into small sections and engrave designs on them, but a lot of the time the color is ugly with black spots at times. I haven't seen Abby post online regarding how to whiten the core of the antler after you have cut it. Any suggestions? Would just like to get the black spots off. Also what's a good sealant to protect the piece while my customer wears/sweats on it? Thanks for your time.

 

[Pete E]

Hydrogen Peroxide (ladies hair bleach) will take the exterior colour out of an antler..You can buy it in chemists in small bottles for a couple of quid.

I would take a piece of cotton wool dampened it with peroxide and leave it sit on the cut surface you want to bleach and leave it for several hours/over night.

Its important not to get Peroxide on your hands or any surface you don't want to bleach, so only dampen the cotton wool and don't use too much..

Peroxide can "burn" if it gets on your skin, so probably best to wear latex or washing up gloves while handling it..

 

[Monikieman]

If it's red deer antler the core/pith will always be a honeycomb material. If you can cut a slab off the side and buff that down into a circle it could be all white. You can sand down the outside to a flat surface but you never know how deep the material is. Farmed deer have much larger antlers but the pith I think is also much bigger.

I think reindeer or sambar from India have much less centre to them. hope this helps a bit