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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 7, 2007 11:15:14 GMT -5
I know this is gonna sound crazy, stupid or both but here goes. I have a really cool specimen of pet wood. It looks like it was a piece of rotted driftwood, lots crevices, holes and crannies. I cut the one end flat so I could mount it on a piece of carved wood. I'm trying to make it look like the pet and real wood are one piece, kinda of an artish thing. When I cut the end off I washed it off right away but it still got a whitish haze all over it. I've tried scrubbing with a toothbrush but there are just places I'm not able to reach. I had the nutty idea of putting it in the dishwasher to clean of the haze. Does this sound like a good idea? Should I use dish soap? If this is not a good idea what can I do to get this stuff out of all the nooks? Thanks.
P.S. Don't tell my wife or she'll have me packed up and moved out by the time I get home. ;D
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Post by akansan on Sept 7, 2007 11:26:12 GMT -5
Are you talking about on the end where you cut or all over the rock? I don't really see how cleaning it in the dishwasher would hurt, especially if there's no loose grit/dirt. It would probably be better than the washing machine.
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Post by texaswoodie on Sept 7, 2007 11:29:28 GMT -5
Tony There is no way you're going to get that haze out. Send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you.
Curt
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Post by hermatite on Sept 7, 2007 11:51:07 GMT -5
Wouldn't the high pressure hose at a carwash be more acceptable to your wife and still get the tight spots clean?
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Post by krazydiamond on Sept 7, 2007 12:19:44 GMT -5
do NOT under ANY circumstances put regular dish washing liquid into your dishwasher!!!! i speak from a rather humbling experience.....trust me!
use cascade.
KD
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Post by flintfish on Sept 7, 2007 13:15:27 GMT -5
I've heard it all now! Dishwashers have been used to clean dishes, crank cases & engine blocks, I even heard of some maniac who cooked a salmon wrapped in foil and cling film in the DW and now pet wood! Excellent ha ha ha. Seriously, I'm not sure it would do it any harm, salt and rinse aid will have no major impact, but the detergent can vary in composition, some of which is reactive, I'mnot sure what Cascade contains, I'd give it a few spoons of Borax and stand well back... I'm jesting again, but the borax would probably be less harsh to the material than real detergent. Thanks Tony, I can truly apreciate the inventiveness of rock polishers now - So, tumble driers.... well it's got the word tumble in there so I'm off to see what I can rig up.... Cheers, Harry.
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yogibear
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2006
Posts: 100
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Post by yogibear on Sept 7, 2007 14:20:42 GMT -5
I use the dishwasher after polishing slabs on the vibro lap to clean the left over polish off the edges. It does a pretty good job if you have the pot and pan cycle since this is a harder cleaning than would be used for dishes.
yogibear
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 8, 2007 15:00:15 GMT -5
Thanks Yogi, its good to see I'm not completely insane (which is what my wife will say when I tell her my plan). ;D Thanks to everyone else who responded also. I may try the car wash thing first.
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Sept 8, 2007 20:24:35 GMT -5
Did the whole piece develope a white haze or just the cut area ? I received a box of Myrtal wood from a guy in Oregon a couple years back and about 24 hours after I slabbed it, it turned snow white. He had picked it out of the ocean and I thought the white was probably salt that was evaporating from the porus stone. When I said White I was'nt kidding, it looked like a paper plate full of potato slices. I seriously thought of boiling the slabs in water to leech the salt out.
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Post by Condor on Sept 8, 2007 22:09:17 GMT -5
Don't really know how that would work, but if I were to try that I would use some soft kind of soap such as Dreft or Ivory Flakes.
Condor
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Post by connrock on Sept 9, 2007 7:26:53 GMT -5
So you think you're the first one who used a dishwasher for rocks? I did it many years ago AND with my wife standing right there!!! No guts,,,,,No glory!! There are some parts of rough rocks that are going to stay as nature made them.I've fooled around with ALL sorts of experiments cleaning and polishing pet wood to try to keep it as natural as possible and in some cases seceded but in others fahgetaboutit! One product that I use a lot in all my lapidary endeavors is Simple Green.I use it full strength and cut it at times.I buy it by the gallon and never seem to have enough. I doubt if anything will remove the haze you have as it's one of natures "delights" and that's that! There is also a very small inexpensive pressure washer on the market you can try.It looks like one of those old paint sprayers you hook up to your vacuum cleaner exhaust and has the glass bottle on the bottom.(hang on and I'll see if I can find one) WOW,,,,It took me forever to find this gun again! Here's a link to the web site: www.albatross-usa.com/htmlversion/cleaningequipment/AlbatrossSG5000_html.htmOne way I have just found (totally by accident) to get into the nooks and crannies of a rock is to use a muslin "loose" buffing wheel with the "stick" type Tripoli polish used in jewelery making. These are the ones I use on my tapered spindle but they also come with a 3/8" hole for a mandrel,,,, This is the page I order from (only because they are in CT and I get free next day delivery). The buffs are the 2nd and 3rd item down the page: www.gesswein.com/catalog/catalog.cfm?cat=8&sub=2&subsub=5&catalog=1&CFID=896350&CFTOKEN=84770634This is the (Brown) Tripoli I use,,,also found at the same web site,,,,, www.gesswein.com/catalog/catalog.cfm?cat=8&sub=10&subsub=11&catalog=1&CFID=896350&CFTOKEN=84770634Now go and melt some plastic!!!! ;D connrock
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free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
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Post by free4rms on Sept 9, 2007 7:48:27 GMT -5
I will have to second Connrock about using a spot cleaning gun. I have had one for many years and they work extremely well. The pressurized jet of water that it shoots out is very tiny, probably a couple of millimeters in width, but you can ajust the spray much wider for milder cleaning. This tiny jet of water will get into very small openings, even tiny surface cracks in slabs. It is really handy for removing polishing compounds in tiny pits and cracks. I use mine for cleaning some types of fossils, like larger fossil shark teeth. The jet is so powerful, it will remove the leftover ring where barnacles were scraped off of shark teeth that were found in salt water rivers. This tool was designed primarily for use in the dry cleaning industry to remove stains from clothing by spraying cleaning agents. Remember to never hit your bare fingers with the spray if it is on the most powerful setting. It will sting like h*ll, and could even cut you if you aren't careful. Wearing rubber gloves will protect you from the jet completely, though.
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karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
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Post by karenfh on Sept 10, 2007 0:27:59 GMT -5
I've got one of those scunci steamers; I have used it, and yes, it does work on rocks (as well as other things!) The only problem is holding small rocks; bought a good tongs. I do it outside, unless I'm cleaning the tub; then I bring in the rocks I want to clean and do double-cleaning duty. I'm still laughing at KD, who says do NOT under ANY circumstances put regular dish washing liquid into your dishwasher!!!! i speak from a rather humbling experience.....trust me! use cascade. KD I have to reiterate that advice!!!! We were a sitcom for about an hour.
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 10, 2007 14:43:00 GMT -5
How would a steam cleaner work?
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Post by hermatite on Sept 10, 2007 14:49:08 GMT -5
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 10, 2007 15:01:52 GMT -5
Sounds like our Shark steam cleaner might do the trick. Thanks Herm.
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 15, 2007 5:58:53 GMT -5
Well I ended up trying the dishwasher, I was too lazy to try anything else. ;D It worked great, the piece looks better than it did before. Now I need to turn and carve the base. I'll post a pic when I finally get teh sculpture done.
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Post by larrywyland3 on Sept 15, 2007 9:10:55 GMT -5
I think the pet wood would be top rack safe
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Post by Tonyterner on Sept 15, 2007 14:25:40 GMT -5
That's where I put it. ;D
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