Thread: Stained Horn Scales

Lots of staining on these scales that don’t look natural to me. Any advice how to minimize this or get rid of this?

Stains are possibly from prolonged exposure to water? Try giving them a good rubbing with sandpaper. It won't do the scales any harm. Hope this helps.

I've come across quite a few that the old dye is wearing off.

As said, give um a go with some 220, ya might be surprised.



If its rust you may have to cut it out, carefully. Then fill with CA or epoxy, depending on how big or deep of an area thats being repaired.

I've been able to use hydrogen peroxide to get grimy stains out but if it's rust that probably won't do it. I have never tried something like CLR because I was afraid it would damage the horn although I have thought about trying it if I find some that could be sacrificial for the sake of the experiment.
If they are delaminating and rust is getting into the cracks it can be nearly impossible to manually remove without cutting it out like outback said.

Did some sanding and definitely made progress. Most was on the surface on the inside of the scales. Some of the grime was in cracks and goes deeper. I used 220 and stopped often to check. I have to reshape that end now as they don’t match anymore. Should get more out then. Thanks for the replies.

Nice work. Just be sure to get the insides flat. Its more important on the wedge side, but pivot side matters too.

Will epoxy pick up the dye? I used JB weld clear.

Not sure about JB weld, never used it.

It doesn't take it as well as horn, itself. I found that a bit of touching up the inside of the scales with black paint, made a darker appearance.




Then the wedge took care of the rest.


I would recommend a heavier amount of dye to be used on the epoxy. I went fairly light, and tried it twice, before settling on using the paint on the inside of the scales.

Can't really screw it up. Just start over again, if ya don't like it. That's how I learned.!

But I'm more than happy to help ya along, though it takes a bit of technique, learning to blend and hide repairs. Honey horn is by far the hardest, because of its transparency.

If their in real bad shape, I'll sand them real good, make repairs with epoxy and powdered lump charcoal, bog oak, or burnt, wooden match sticks. Anything black, to use as a filler for the epoxy. Then dye them in black hair dye.






Getting the shine back, is the use of CA as a clear coat that will polish to a high shine, something epoxy won't do.

Knowing a bit about finishing auto and boat repairs, is a plus for me in this aspect. So it does take some practice to blend repairs so their not easily spotted, or stick out like a sore thumb.

I've been slowly working on this project and almost finished sanding the blade...I hope.

I like the idea of dying the scales. It would be a shame to lose all of the natural colour and transparency. Maybe I'll try the spots or put a streak on them like that photo. Darker on the wedge side to hide the crack. If that fails, can i salvage by re-dying a solid colour?

I tried black hair dye on another set scrap horn scales. I followed the instructions on the box. Seemed to work ok. They are black now.

Is there a type or brand that works best? Would a paint brush work to put the dye on?

Appreciate any tips. Thanks.

If your going to dye the whole scale, just place them in a zip lock bag, and cover with dye. Let soak a couple hours, won't hurt anything.

If your doing spots, use a small paint brush to apply.





If you've done spots and don't like it, yes you can dye over it. But I advise you to sand the scales again to remove the pattern left from the spots. It'll show thru the new dye.

My preferred dye brand.