Featured Cleaning Lave Cameos

Of course not! It was just meant as an incentive to get those pics posted. Unfortunately it didn't work. I guess the intermission act has to go on.
So ...
A Frenchman, an Englishman and an American walk into a bar ...

 

OUCH !!!!

 

I'm attempting to upload as I type sorry for the delay everyone I hope you had a wonderful intermission.
Also if you feel they are not lava stone please let me know but try to explain in as much detail as you can why they are not so I can learn
Also I do know they may have damage and one is missing am arm. But I loved it so I didn't care when I got it.

Also images had to be cropped to for size. So let me know if you have questions. Or need different pic or angle. I added one more pic at bottom to show part that I think is rust maybe?

 

Ahhh something to go on..!!

the middle two look made by the same hand.

 

Yayyyy!! Thanks for sharing. These are great. I think the Ceres is my favorite.

Yes, all look like lava to me.

For cleaning, I have definitely used a wet soft toothbrush on mine (not soaking) and it hasn't done any damage. However, I admit to living dangerously so you may want to be more cautious and test a spot on the back of each before attempting it. Others may have seen instances of water doing damage and will chime in I hope.

If a dry clean, I would say try a rubber eraser is the safest for marks. I use a white eraser. A dry paint or makeup brushes to get loose dust and lint off. I've also used dental picks (others have used needles) to gently press against tougher grime and pop it off. Remember that lava is a lot softer, and more porous, than other cameo materials so test first and be gentle.

 

do you use any soap or anything? Or just water?
Any suggestions for the rust looking stuff?

 

I have a small bowl with a drop of dish soap in water, same as what Bronwen recommends for soaking other cameos for cleaning, like shell or hardstone.

Dunno what the "rust" looking stuff is...you mean the stuff under the lip of the cameo mount in your last photo? That is glue (probably animal) that they used to hold it. It gets brittle and sometimes crumbles out.

If you mean the dark stuff on the back of the lava, I can't tell what that may be, but it's almost always a 100+ year build up of...uh...human....grime... Oils, skin cells, dirt, etc. I start with a brush off on delicate stuff, dish soap + water with soft toothbrush if I don't think it'll damage it, then dental picks for stubborn gunk, but YMMV.

If you're gonna keep collecting, I recommend getting a cheap pair of magnification glasses or a table magnifier, so you can really get a good eye on debris and use a much gentler and precise touch to remove it.

 

any recommendations on where to buy said items? Or is it just like Amazon and type table magnifier?

 

If searching Amazon then I would put in "watch repair magnifier" for the glasses (which is what I use). If a table magnifier then you should be able to find that locally at a craft store, or an online one. Just anything that's hands-free with a light!

 

Ok I will do that. I wonder if anyone else will have an idea on how to clean as well or an opinion on if they lava it not

Ok and since I'm literally a TOTAL NEWBIE at all of this, is Ceres the one with leaves?
( Full disclosure I like getting cameos for a few reasons, once because I like the idea of having something that extremely old, and two because they LOOK FREAKING AWESOME! but I didn't always know who they are, like which goddess/god or if they even supposed to represent that at all) so if you know that info and can help clue me in at to whom I have that would be much appreciated ☺️. I hope this makes sense (I also have ADHD and tend to ramble))

Side note: I use swipe on my phone so... Yeah it chooses strange words sometimes and I don't always catch it

 

Also I didn't realize they glued them in. Do they do that with other types of cameos too? Or just lava?

 

Ceres is the last one you posted, with the wheat stalks in her hair.

You're really going to love @Bronwen's website Cameo Times! She has a Key to decipher who your cameo is supposed to represent, materials used in making them, and pages of examples of subjects. It's where I learned so much. Read her site for Cameo 101 and this thread for Advanced Cameos.

We agree, they definitely look freaking awesome.

Others will come along! We're just more laid back here.

It's much more common for fine cameos to be held in by metal rings, prongs, beads or the frames. I've had one shell cameo that had this glue as a filler. I recently got a hardstone ring where someone had clearly attempted a home fix-it job with some of this glue...I removed it all and there's nothing wrong with the setting so I don't know what that person was thinking.

 

Let's ID them for easier reference. The first is what must originally have been an awesome bacchante (female follower of the wine god Bacchus). Have never seen one quite like this, with the bunch of grapes hung over the shepherd's crook (pedum). Her whole right forearm & the lower end of the crook must have been cut to be detached from the background, unavoidably making that segment highly vulnerable to getting knocked off.

The second is a bust of another bacchante. The grape leaves she is wearing are the identifier.

The third is Psyche, indicated by the butterfly wing on her brow.

The fourth, as Mirana said, is the goddess Ceres/Demeter, marked by the grain stalks wreathing her head.

The gentle eraser is the place to start. I see some lines that suggest the piece was tossed in with other jewellery & got scratched.

Bacchante II has a white encrustation that looks quite a bit like Byne's Disease, something that can develop on calcium carbonate-based materials. I would cautiously see what plain water on a cotton swab does, first in a test on the back & then, if color does not come away, carefully wiped into the crevices of the hair. An eraser that can be made to have a fine point on it might also do the trick.

Please show us after pictures when you're ready.

 

i will try with the eraser first, then the q-Tip with water, if that does not work, should i try the water and soap? ( looking for your opinion or soapy water?)

 

Test any method you're thinking of trying, including the eraser, on the back first. I would be wary of soap. If you find soapy water sinks in & changes the color I think all you could do would be to submerge the whole thing in the soapy water in the hope of evening the color out again. Definitely do a spot test before trying this.

I think your best bet is to start with a sticky/gummy type eraser & move on to something mildly abrasive if that does not yield a satisfactory result.

@mirana @PepperAnna @kyratango Recommendations for products?

 

I've used pretty much any type eraser available (hard pink, rubber white, pen/typwriter yellow, gray kneaded, etc.) on cameos and the one that always gives me the best results is a white rubber eraser. Brand isn't specific. You can find them in art and craft stores in a drawing section.

 

Uh, I never had to clean a lava cameo, so no product to recommend... Your recommendations seems very logical to me, and not harmful if followed

 

I've never had to clean a lava cameo either. I don't like lava cameos very much, so I only have a couple in my collection. I think the previous recommendations are correct.

 

I have a couple but agreed there are few that appeal to me.