Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Mar 11, 2020 19:55:13 GMT -5
How do? I picked up a decently sized chunk of Australian Lace Agate that I plan on tumbling whole. I chose it because I saw a crystal vug on one part and the crystals looked like they still had their points. Well it arrived, turns out there's two spots with vugs. Neat. Does anyone have experience protecting areas of stone through the tumbling process? The guy that did the 40lb crazy lace covered areas in hot glue. So that's an idea, just not sure what to expect of that in terms of: How long before it wears through? Will it detach easily? Should it be reapplied? Can I remove it without damaging the crystals? I'm tentatively thinking this'll go in the barrel the crazy lace is in once it's done... so there's a number of weeks left still before this. Vug #1 Vuggy #2 Entire rock, top left and lower right are the vugs. Probably going to dunk this in Iron Out and hit it with a toothbrush before the tumble. I'd like to get those crystals nice and sparkly, and a decent surface to adhere to. Again, any ideas and/or experience with how to protect these would be helpful. Cheers!
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Post by rmf on Mar 12, 2020 4:06:47 GMT -5
I am not sure how you would remove the hot glue. Freezing makes it brittle but not sure how it would turn loose of a crystal or pull it out. Epoxy would work and you can dip in acetone to remove. Acetone might work for hot glue too though have not tried it.
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Post by knave on Mar 12, 2020 6:24:23 GMT -5
Benathema let’s see a pictorial.... Find some low grade rough with vugs and try Silicone, construction adhesive, epoxy, etc, etc and take us along for the ride....
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shardy
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2019
Posts: 110
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Post by shardy on Mar 12, 2020 11:38:46 GMT -5
I like the wax idea myself.
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Mar 14, 2020 2:08:53 GMT -5
Iron Out really did a number on clearing up the crystals. Hey, where'd he come from? Benathema let’s see a pictorial.... Find some low grade rough with vugs and try Silicone, construction adhesive, epoxy, etc, etc and take us along for the ride.... Y'know... I think you're right. While the Aussie lace wasn't super pricey, finding it with vugs like this might be uncommon. Maybe? I'm not super familiar with this material. Benathema: Starting to spend too much on rocks
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Mar 14, 2020 5:38:41 GMT -5
I've tried protecting crystals (especially if they are small) on rough of various Amethyst, Citrine, Quartz we've dug up from mine tailings........both rotary and vibe. Used epoxy and automotive adhesives.......rotary tumbled with softer material, didn't have any success saving the nodules and it was a pain in the ass to remove the "protective blankets". In the vibe was able to keep a few nodules stable, but again removal of the protection was pain staking even after soaking in solvents.........ended up using a Dremel to grind around the epoxies (what nodules were left), and hand polished what remained........
I ended up cleaning, like you've done, the bulk of what I did not tumble/vibe, and exhibit as specimens.........for me, not worth the effort...!
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
|
Post by Benathema on Mar 14, 2020 21:04:59 GMT -5
Damn, sounds like rough luck.
I may teeter totter back and forth over the coming weeks, deciding what to do.
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