Removing Lipstick

[JCurtiss]

Ok, I've got three (3) how-to books: Recreating the American Longrifle, The Gunsmith of Greenville County and The Art of Building the Penn Longrifle.

And one of them suggested using lipstick for highlighting wood that needs to be removed when inletting.  So lipstick is what I used.

But how do I remove it from the surrounding wood? Is there some chemical I can use to wipe it off, or do I need to sand it off or what...?

Thanks!

Jason

[Mark Elliott]

For one thing, don't use lipstick.  I use permanent marker on metal parts as a transfer medium.    It is much cleaner.   Good old fashioned candle or lamp soot also works.  Now that you have the lipstick to deal with, anything that dissolved oil or wax should do.   I can suggest acetone, but there is also a very popular product around here call Cleanwood.    Scraping or sanding that you do on finishing may also remove it.   I find that the scraping I do on whiskering takes care of most dirt and such.

[JCurtiss]

For one thing, don't use lipstick.

So why do the how-to books recommend lipstick?

At any rate, thanks for the acetone and Cleanwoode suggestions.

[Mark Elliott]

For one thing, don't use lipstick.

So why do the how-to books recommend lipstick?

I don't know.  It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.  

[Ric27]

For one thing, don't use lipstick.

So why do the how-to books recommend lipstick?

At any rate, thanks for the acetone and Cleanwoode suggestions.

That is a good question. I had seen that same recommendation when I first started building never tried it. It sounded od some how and messy. Try the alcohol or the acetone and take your time.   

[FALout]

Wipe it off with your shirt collar.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Wipe it off with your shirt collar.

Somebody had to do it.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

For one thing, don't use lipstick.

So why do the how-to books recommend lipstick?

At any rate, thanks for the acetone and Cleanwoode suggestions.

I used it on one project and my shop is not climate controlled.  In the heat of the summer it turned into a huge mess.  Plus that stuff is expensive. 

Coryjoe

[Dave B]

I use Prussian blue at times and it is very similar to lipstick. I have used the blue for years till I misplaced my tube of it and started using smoking with an oil lamp.The important thing to remember is a little blue goes a long way. I have a percussion tin lid that a small dot of blue is smeared into and a small brush is used to paint on the thinnest layer on to the metal. At least one of the gunstockers at the Bigtimber Montana Sharps assembly area uses Prussian blue in the same manor I described with the exception the lid was from a Copenhagen can. I have yet to try the magic marker, it sounds like it is not so messy. My problem with markers is remembering to cap them. I have bought more markers than I would like to say just to find them on the bench with out caps and all dried out.

[moleeyes36]

I've used the dry erase markers before.  They don't transfer quite as much color to the wood as the permanent markers do but they certainly are easier to clean off things, including yourself.

Mole Eyes

[okieboy]

 I often use lipstick. At $1.00 each it is cheap. It, for me, is not as messy as Prussian Blue, as it is more waxy than oily. I can get very thin coatings by applying it with my finger. As to coloring the wood, one of the reasons that I use it is that you can get about any color under the rainbow, including ones similar to what your wood stain color is going to be,such as dark reddish brown.
 Some techniques fit some people, some don't.

[Daryl]

Taylor ran out of his normal transfer blackening, and switched to lipstick. He mentioned one day that he liked it as a transfer medium. Perhaps he'll say something here when he sees this thread.

[JCKelly]

Been while since I inlet anything. Being an old geezer I still just lit a candle.

Not sayin' lipstick has ever been a problem for me, but if so it was not on wood

[sean69]

I've used the dry erase markers before.  They don't transfer quite as much color to the wood as the permanent markers do but they certainly are easier to clean off things, including yourself.

Mole Eyes

the nice thing about the dry erase is you can switch up the colors to see if a spot is actually getting transfer on it or is just leftover...  the not nice thing about dry erase is getting it to cover your metal part evenly

[Acer Saccharum]

I use inlet black from Brownell's on maple. I put a small amount on an old toothbrush, wipe it around on a scrap, work it into the bristles.  This allows me to apply the tiniest amount to the parts. You can hardly see it on the steel, but it transfers wonderfully.

You could use lipstick same way, I bet.

[PPatch]

Mineral Spirits should remove what can be removed, scraping and finishing the rest. Mineral Spirits will also give you an idea of what your stock will look like when finished. Try some lamp black as in using an old kerosene lamp with the globe removed to blacken your parts. That is what I use. You will then end up with lamp black to remove but it isn't a wax or oil so is much easier, and by the time you are doing final wood prep for the finish it will not be a problem.

dave

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Yup, I use lipstick and it works just fine.  Like Tom, I use an old soft toothbrush to apply it to the metal.  The red colour also works nicely on walnut.  To remove the smudges from adjacent wood, scrape it off, basically, the same way you remove it in an inlet.  I use an oily rag to remove it from the part when I'm finished.  Like Jarrow's, lipstick goes a long way.  I get my wife's discards when she's finished with a tube, and there's still lots left that comes out on a screw driver to apply to the brush.

[Curt Larsen]

I've had good results using Taylor's technique.  One thing I like is that it is less messy that soot or that inletting black that TOW sells.
Curt

[Tom Currie]

I'm a lipstick user ( sort of a family joke around here ). A little turpentine to clean up when I need to . I  don't know where Okie Boy get's his for a buck., cheapest is about 5 bucks here, still goes a long way.

[JBJ]

Another lipstick user and happy with the results and ease. Big Lots and Wally World will surprise you with how cheap a new tube can be - maybe not $1.00 but not far off when they are running special deals. I seem to see the brighter reds more easily than some of the moroons, etc. A tube lasts a long time. While there check out some of the bright nail polishes - that bright (almost day-glo) orange dabbed on a front sight helps these tired old eyes! One bottle of that stuff lasts forever! JB

[oldtravler61]

Go to the local Dollar store. Most of the time u can get a two or five Pac for a buck. An yes really. An it will save the wife/ girlfriend from getting a sliver !