Housekeeping tips: getting stain off of bone mahjong tiles

[Sattua]

I have a lovely mahjong set with tiles made of bone and bamboo, all fitted into drawers that go into a wooden case. The last time it was put away, someone put the tiles into one of the drawers face-down. Yesterday afternoon when I got it out to play, all of the tiles that had been face-down in their stained wooden drawer had picked up an orangish color. It's really ugly.

Question: who has ideas about how to clean off the orange color, without hurting the bone and without removing the designs on the tiles?

[Acid Lamp]

ouch. This isn't going t be easy. Bone, being porous picks up staining rather easily I'm afraid. If they have a smooth polished finish, you can try a gentle abrasive, like a 400 or above sandpaper; the stain is most likely only surface deep. If they have a sanded finish the stain may have penetrated deeply and you may need to soak them in a peroxide solution used to whiten bones. You can re-ink the carvings, with india link and a small brush later if they are damaged. I would seal all of them with a natrual wax solution myself to prevent further issues.

[Shayna]

This person has some cleaning tips for Mah-Jongg sets.

In 1924 you could have sent away to Dutton's in NY for cleaning fluid!

Advertisement, "Protect your Ma Jong set",
New York Times, March 23, 1924, p. BR25 2

A Cleaning fluid to protect ivory or bone and expand bamboo is available for $1.25 by sending your name and address to Dutton's, 681 Fifth Ave., near 54th St.