Cleaning Micarta

C

camblam

Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Messages
27
Hi All,

This is my first post so I will keep it brief. I recently purchased a Katz Kagemusha with Ivory White Micarta Handles. Love the knife, the design and the steel, but I have one problem. It seems that the store where I bought the knife uses jewellers rouge cloths that have a red buffing side which transfers a small amount of red pigment to the otherwise impeccably white micarta scaling. I would very much like to rid myself of this colouring so I am turning to the forum for any suggestions. So far I have tried water and detergent which cleaned the micarta and left it smelling dishwasher fresh, but did not remove the colour pigment. I have heard that paint thinner may be a good idea, but I would like some input if you have any suggestions.
 
You may have better luck if you post this in the "Makers" area, in the "Shop Talk" forum. Those guys know stuff. Good luck.
 
I would be very careful since it is easy to damage the surface on a resin-based material. White will show up problems easily. The red part of jeweler's rouge is ferric oxide (rust) and the binder is wax. A warm detergent solution was a good place to start. One of the safer things to try is to soften the wax using liquid wax (mineral oil), but on a white surface you might get discoloration if the oil is absorbed. Another thing that cuts wax is ammonia, but that might dull the surface finish. You might try Windex, but wipe it off immediately. I would avoid most solvents like acetone (finger nail polish remover) or paint thinners. I would test a small spot before attacking the whole handle.
 
Phenolic resin is functionally impervious to most things, but the white stuff tends to stain/discolor very easily. Use a hot solution of water and detergent and maybe a rag/cottonball soaked in alcohol.
 
A Mr. Clean eraser will work,you can pick them up in the market,they work like a big eraser,they are used for cleaning up scuff marks on a kitchen floors.
works like a charm,

Also something else that will work,is toothpaste put it on the handle and take a tooth brush to it :)
 
Didn't think to put this in the shop talk forum. Sorry about that.
Forum integrity failing. misplaced posts rising.... must.... eject.....
 
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