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Post by NatureNut on Apr 24, 2009 22:11:54 GMT -5
Collected a wide variety of material on my trip to Amish Country a few weeks ago. Sorted out the tumble material and the specimens, but had some pieces soaking in water that weren't specimen quality, but were too cool to tumble. They have citrine, rose, clear, smoky and amethyst crystals growing out in every which direction and sometimes even growing at eachother. I've been thinking about what to do with these (especially now because I've been packing up my rocks), and thought that maybe I'd cut out one of these multi-directional sections and polish the back and sides and keep the front natural. So, I picked one to try my idea out on. After making the first cut, I saw this inside. The matrix is pink patterned and the crystals came out like perfectly sliced silhouettes. Was happy to find the surface was pretty solid and cab-able. So, that made me re-think my plan... Thanks for lookin'! Jo
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Post by Tony W on Apr 24, 2009 22:31:38 GMT -5
Very nice, Jo! I get lots of red clay stained on my quartz down here and one thing I do to clean them is put them in Muratic acid for a while. It is acid so be careful, and cut it with water by putting the acid into the water. "Do what you ought'er, put acid into water". Don't leave them in more that 4 or 6 hours before checking, as they can bleach out too much. Baking soda will neutralize the acid so out of a 5 gal bucket of acid/water and into a 5 gal of water/soda for a good while. Wear a respirator while messing with the acid. I used to use it to clean decks and slate walkways, etc. so you can work with it...just be careful! T
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Post by sitnwrap on Apr 24, 2009 22:33:52 GMT -5
Wow! Those are two beautiful crystal cab. It looks like there are rainbow effects in the upper right of the cabs, especially the 2nd cab. They must be amazing in the sunlight. You seem to be a magnet for the good stuff in PA. lol
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Post by NatureNut on Apr 24, 2009 22:41:16 GMT -5
Thanks Lori! I just keep my eyes open and my nose to the ground, that's all, LOL. Tony, Thanks! I was going to use Iron Out in this case. Do you concur?
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Post by Bejewelme on Apr 25, 2009 7:17:40 GMT -5
Jo: Those turned out awesome! I can tell you got a really nice shine, it is blinding! Very cool! You know I love a Lancaster rock! Amber
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 27, 2009 19:52:31 GMT -5
Cool, especially the second one!
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Post by Tony W on Apr 28, 2009 0:00:39 GMT -5
Hey, Jo...sorry I missed your question. Sure, try the iron out first. If you have access to a pressure washer or a steamer you can get a lot of dirt off that way too. But if it is badly stained you can always go stronger later. T
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Post by NatureNut on Apr 28, 2009 6:15:44 GMT -5
Thanks Amber and Randy! Tony, I did try the muriatic acid soak on this "not specimen, not tumble" material last Saturday. It cleaned the matrix up a bit, but the crystals are still yellow... looks like they are citrine, LOL. I'll do it with my specimens this week.
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Post by frane on Apr 28, 2009 7:17:20 GMT -5
They both look great Jo! I always end up having quartz undercut at the last stages of working it. Grrr! Fran
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