I acquired a piece of scrimshaw that I was told is mammoth ivory. It
has a pin glued on the back that I want to remove. I’m wondering if
the Attack I use to remove pearls will work on the scrimshaw piece,
or if there is a better option.
Can anyone tell me if the attack will damage the piece if it is in
fact mammoth ivory (or if it’s actually some kind of plastic…) and
if the attack will damage the ink or whatever the colorant is in the
design"
Hello Alexis, Do not put the scrimshaw in any solution. It may be
real, it may be fake or it may have had repairs to the ink. Any of
these things may be affected by something like “attack”. Warm the
pinback with a soldering iron until you can pull it off. It doesn’t
take much heat. Have fun.
A bottle of Zap-A-Gap (thick cyanaclylic glue) got spilled (and
allowed to dry) on a counter top-- vinyl? That typical plastic-y
stuff that comes in sheets. Will anything remove it without
destroying the counter top?
Can anyone tell me if the attack will damage the piece if it is in
fact mammoth ivory (or if it's actually some kind of plastic...)
and if the attack will damage the ink or whatever the colorant is
in the design"
Whether they used the traditional India ink, or acrylic paint,
Attack will almost certainly strip it from the design. The ivory
itself is pretty tough stuff, but some of the things that give the
mammoth ivory it’s colors, might be affected by the solvent.
My gut reflex is attack might not be your friend here…
Alexis- I asked a friend who carves mammoth ivory about this, here’s
what she said:
Do Not use any solvent on a finished piece of mammoth ivory.
A scrim artist I know recommended that you not use solvent either,
as it will pull out the ink. He did mention that heat might not work
on all glues, but you could very carefully give it a try.