How To Polish Soapstone Carvings

The carving has a chip in it and the chip is very noticeable.

How to polish soapstone carvings. How to Clean a Soapstone Sculpture Sep 2012. Dry and continue polishing until you achieve the desired effect. This cures the epoxy hardening it so the repaired area can be filed and sanded to reshape and remove the excess glue before polishing.

Soapstone is a natural material that is fantastic to carve and sculpt using very simple to. The carving is green in color it is white where it has been chipped. Wet the soapstone to clean off dust and check the finish.

Polishing Soapstone with wax. Michael polishes a few nicks and scratches out of a stone carving by Canadian Inuit artist Timothy Nayoumealook. When the pig is cold room temperature you can buff the surface.

You may now polish the carving with a soft cloth sprayed with Pledge. I will harden the epoxy before finishing by heating the carving in an oven at about 100 for about a half-hour. Rub the oil into the soapstone with a clean dry cloth.

Soapstone is impervious to chemicals so those types of cleaners will not harm it. We will be applying the oil by hand and will use the heat of our hands to help with the absorption process. High temperatures will not hurt the stone Soapstone can take temperatures of 1700 º F without any adverse effect but the beeswax will evaporate at 300 º F.

Pour a small amount of your oil in your hand and rub the oil all over the carving. Be sure to gently rub the sandpaper onto the carving at the exact location of the scratch to remove the thinnest layer of soapstone and buff out the scratches. Make sure that your carving is completely dry before you work on this step.