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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 12:37:17 GMT -5
Some more Tee Pees I collected yesterday. They have a white mineral on some of the patterns that I want to remove, someone smarter than me may know what it is. Anyway, here's some pics, some I notice are blurry, sorry. I was wondering if I should try soaking them in vinegar first or jump straight to acid? Thanks!
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Post by aDave on Jul 11, 2019 13:40:22 GMT -5
Looks like you might have some caliche on your rocks. You might try vinegar first, simply because it's more mild and you don't have to worry about neutralizing it when you're done. Jugglerguy just picked up muriatic acid at Home Depot for his most recent acid work, so maybe he'll have some tips if you go with that. If you go the household vinegar route, just know that most product you'll find in stores is 5-6%, so it's really kind of weak. Still may work...just might take a while. When I went to clean a bunch of pet wood from Dobell's, I started with 6% but was able to find 25% to use instead. It worked pretty well. Can't recall where I found it though.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2019 13:42:59 GMT -5
I wouldn't go beyond vinegar in strength. As the matrix surrounding the agate in pieces I've had was limestone, you probably don't want to etch that away or destroy it.
As an alternative, how about using pumice or a similar abrasive to clean off the caliche? You can find glass and pumice stones at the hardware store that are used to clean off caliche rings in toilets, sinks and showers (won't work as well if the agate has sharp edges). If you're real patient, you can soak in very warm water, then chip off at least some of the coating with the end of a paper clip, straight pin, old xacto blade, etc.
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Post by aDave on Jul 11, 2019 13:54:48 GMT -5
I wouldn't go beyond vinegar in strength. As the matrix surrounding the agate in pieces I've had was limestone, you probably don't want to etch that away or destroy it. As an alternative, how about using pumice or a similar abrasive to clean off the caliche? You can find glass and pumice stones at the hardware store that are used to clean off caliche rings in toilets, sinks and showers (won't work as well if the agate has sharp edges). If you're real patient, you can soak in very warm water, then chip off at least some of the coating with the end of a paper clip, straight pin, old xacto blade, etc. Good point...thanks. I didn't consider the matrix. If that's an issue, maybe even stay away from the 25% vinegar?
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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 14:12:18 GMT -5
Looks like you might have some caliche on your rocks. You might try vinegar first, simply because it's more mild and you don't have to worry about neutralizing it when you're done. Jugglerguy just picked up muriatic acid at Home Depot for his most recent acid work, so maybe he'll have some tips if you go with that. If you go the household vinegar route, just know that most product you'll find in stores is 5-6%, so it's really kind of weak. Still may work...just might take a while. When I went to clean a bunch of pet wood from Dobell's, I started with 6% but was able to find 25% to use instead. It worked pretty well. Can't recall where I found it though. I think I will try the vinegar first. I thought about mechanical methods but I'm not sure what's underneath and don't want to grind away any bands. I'll check for a stronger brand if I can. Thank you.
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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 14:14:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't go beyond vinegar in strength. As the matrix surrounding the agate in pieces I've had was limestone, you probably don't want to etch that away or destroy it. As an alternative, how about using pumice or a similar abrasive to clean off the caliche? You can find glass and pumice stones at the hardware store that are used to clean off caliche rings in toilets, sinks and showers (won't work as well if the agate has sharp edges). If you're real patient, you can soak in very warm water, then chip off at least some of the coating with the end of a paper clip, straight pin, old xacto blade, etc. Another good idea. I try to stay away from the acid if I can. I think I had some of this on some other stones I collected that I soaked in Iron Out. The Iron Out of course didn't do anything to it, but after a good soak it chipped off fairly easily. If I remember correctly. Thanks for the tips!
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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 14:15:56 GMT -5
I wouldn't go beyond vinegar in strength. As the matrix surrounding the agate in pieces I've had was limestone, you probably don't want to etch that away or destroy it. As an alternative, how about using pumice or a similar abrasive to clean off the caliche? You can find glass and pumice stones at the hardware store that are used to clean off caliche rings in toilets, sinks and showers (won't work as well if the agate has sharp edges). If you're real patient, you can soak in very warm water, then chip off at least some of the coating with the end of a paper clip, straight pin, old xacto blade, etc. Good point...thanks. I didn't consider the matrix. If that's an issue, maybe even stay away from the 25% vinegar? Actually ( and I forgot to put this in the response to @rocks2dust ) I will eventually get rid of the matrix anyway so I just have the remaining agate. Since I'm doing this with a dremel, any matrix that went away would be fine with me!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 11, 2019 15:54:21 GMT -5
greig did a video recently on using vinegar to etch silver ore. He has done other videos on using muriatic acid. He has much more experience with these things than I do.
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Post by Peruano on Jul 11, 2019 16:26:12 GMT -5
Just to amplify the discussion, I'd be tempted to point out that often agates have a white oxidized layer on the surface that is totally resistant to any acid I've tried. Its oxidized agate and hence tough even to grind off. So, if your white film does not respond to vinegar or muriatic acid it may be something tough enough to stand up to acid of any kind.
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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 16:59:19 GMT -5
greig did a video recently on using vinegar to etch silver ore. He has done other videos on using muriatic acid. He has much more experience with these things than I do. Very interesting, thanks Rob.
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Post by miket on Jul 11, 2019 17:01:38 GMT -5
Just to amplify the discussion, I'd be tempted to point out that often agates have a white oxidized layer on the surface that is totally resistant to any acid I've tried. Its oxidized agate and hence tough even to grind off. So, if your white film does not respond to vinegar or muriatic acid it may be something tough enough to stand up to acid of any kind. I've seen that also but I don't think this is the same thing. It's probably easier to see in person but at least the top layer seems like a sort of "crust" on the stones. I'll try and play with them tonight and see what I can do. Thank you.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 12, 2019 8:55:49 GMT -5
I buy and use a product called 30 Second Outdoor cleaner... It comes in a white gallon jug at any hardware store... Works great on most of my material!!
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Post by miket on Jul 12, 2019 9:45:20 GMT -5
I buy and use a product called 30 Second Outdoor cleaner... It comes in a white gallon jug at any hardware store... Works great on most of my material!! I've never heard of that, I'll have to check it out. Thank you, sir!
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Post by fernwood on Jul 12, 2019 10:47:14 GMT -5
Someone on the RTH Facebook page uses Peroxide and dish soap to clean "Desert Scum" from their rocks. Give them a "bubble bath" for a day or so. Says it works great.
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Post by miket on Jul 12, 2019 12:41:07 GMT -5
Someone on the RTH Facebook page uses Peroxide and dish soap to clean "Desert Scum" from their rocks. Give them a "bubble bath" for a day or so. Says it works great. Interesting, thanks! I had some oxalic acid (wood bleach) that I got a while back to use on Fairburns- I think- so I started soaking them in that yesterday afternoon. I'll check them today and see if it did anything. I mostly want to see what that stuff is hiding...
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t2gunner
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 1
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Post by t2gunner on Jan 24, 2024 18:00:00 GMT -5
Could you put it in a UV-10 or UV-18 with 500 grit and watch it every couple of hours until you've worn it off, or do you think it might damage what you're trying to reveal? Where did you find the rough? I'd like to try to tumble and polish it...
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 27, 2024 22:17:35 GMT -5
Could you put it in a UV-10 or UV-18 with 500 grit and watch it every couple of hours until you've worn it off, or do you think it might damage what you're trying to reveal? Where did you find the rough? I'd like to try to tumble and polish it... You can PM me for details... Thanks Dave for the knock upside the head.
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ThomasT
spending too much on rocks
Trying to keep the dust down.
Member since June 2022
Posts: 261
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Post by ThomasT on Jan 27, 2024 23:19:34 GMT -5
It appears, in the image, that may be a silica layer that filled an old fracture ... if so, that wouldn't likely be dissolved in those acids.
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 27, 2024 23:46:17 GMT -5
aDave - I edited my post. I do understand. Those coordinates are actually already posted online elsewhere...but I get your point. Thanks for the (well deserved) kick in the butt.
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Post by aDave on Jan 28, 2024 0:12:09 GMT -5
aDave - I edited my post. I do understand. Those coordinates are actually already posted online elsewhere...but I get your point. Thanks for the (well deserved) kick in the butt. Thanks Jason., though it wasn't meant to be a kick in the butt. I deleted my post where I quoted you, so those coordinates are no longer on the public side. Thanks for understanding. I know we all want to share with members, but it was pointed out to me about public availability and I've tried to be pretty judicious about what is shared online. That's just me. That's just part of my quirkiness. If you're good with your spots going to the general public, then so be it, and I was out of line for pointing that out. Your post would have been fine, then. But, in the past, I had someone chew my butt about sharing locations on the public side...or at least warn me not to do so. You're a great guy about being open, but we don't need any random Google searchers popping up hounding spots by simply landing in the forum. That's just me.
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