Powder horn color

[flash pan blue]

I have a horn of mixed colors, white , light brown, and black. Can you soak a horn in deluted bleach to make it all white?

 

[Darryl]

I tried bleach on a very dark horn and even posted this question a long while back. The replies advised that there isn't much you can do. I decided to decorate my dark horn using white coloring but never got around to it. That's still on my "to do" list.

 

[AZ-Robert]

If you are going to try it, experiment first with the bit of the tip that you cut off the end.

 

[longshot47]

Flash pan blue-
In my experience, you can make a light horn dark, -but cannot make a dark horn appear convincingly light [other than paint??]
....Longshot

 

[BLAHMAN]

I have a horn of mixed colors, white , light brown, and black. Can you soak a horn in deluted bleach to make it all white?

No, all that bleach will do is disinfect it. You may not worry about germs, though!

 

[DGeraths]

Cow horn is made of Keratin, the same protein that your fingernails are made of. Soaking a horn in bleach will do damage to it. The chemical reaction will result in the horn eventually turning to a chalky crumbling mess.

Keratin is the color it is, and there is really nothing you can do to change that. A pure white horn is unrealistic anyway and would look strange to even the layperson. When what the last time you saw a cow with angelic white horns?

If you are trying to recreate a period looking powderhorn than I suggest you go with the standard natural color with a dyed dark brown (or in some cases a kind of black) forward half. That was very much the norm throughout the 18th century, with of course small variations on the theme.

:m2c:

Dana