billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 23, 2020 11:05:01 GMT -5
I am not sure I have my pictures set up correctly but I will try and post anyway. This is some kind of agate I found will hunting for fire agates this year. I would like to clean it up a little and was wondering if I could tumbled it in some 500 grit media or maybe some dry media. Any suggestion
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JBe
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by JBe on Apr 23, 2020 11:37:46 GMT -5
I think you would get better results soaking in oxalic acid. You can buy it in powdered form and it mixes with water. It's inexpensive and not as hazardous as muriatic, sulfuric, etc...
I think tumbling with dry media won't do much to clean it up and tumbling with any kind of SIC will remove features from the rock you probably want to keep.
If you have a little money to spend spot cleaning guns are great for cleaning stuff like this too. They won't remove stains (that's what the acid does) but they'll blast all the dirt and crud out of all the crevices. If you don't want to buy a spot gun just use an old toothbrush and elbow grease after the oxalic acid soak.
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Post by HankRocks on Apr 23, 2020 12:17:09 GMT -5
I am not sure I have my pictures set up correctly but I will try and post anyway. This is some kind of agate I found will hunting for fire agates this year. I would like to clean it up a little and was wondering if I could tumbled it in some 500 grit media or maybe some dry media. Any suggestion Oxalic will work. I would try Ironout. It's a bit safer than Oxalic which does need to be used with gloves. There are some potential health issues with skin contact with an Oxalic solution. The Ironout works best with warm water. One tip, pre soak the rocks to be cleaned with water for several hours, pour off, then warm water then the Ironout. Presoaking allows water to fill any porous area in the material. Helps prevent the Ironout from getting into those porous areas, then slowly leaching out after you are finished and possibly re-staining the rock. Be careful not to shock the rock with very hot water, especially if the rock is cool. The temp difference can crack the material.
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JBe
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by JBe on Apr 23, 2020 15:35:26 GMT -5
I am not sure I have my pictures set up correctly but I will try and post anyway. This is some kind of agate I found will hunting for fire agates this year. I would like to clean it up a little and was wondering if I could tumbled it in some 500 grit media or maybe some dry media. Any suggestion Oxalic will work. I would try Ironout. It's a bit safer than Oxalic which does need to be used with gloves. There are some potential health issues with skin contact with an Oxalic solution. The Ironout works best with warm water. One tip, pre soak the rocks to be cleaned with water for several hours, pour off, then warm water then the Ironout. Presoaking allows water to fill any porous area in the material. Helps prevent the Ironout from getting into those porous areas, then slowly leaching out after you are finished and possibly re-staining the rock. Be careful not to shock the rock with very hot water, especially if the rock is cool. The temp difference can crack the material. That's good advice on the safety precautions. I should have included that as well. Personally I wear thick chemical resistant gloves and safety glasses for protection from both the spot gun (skin injection is bad) and the acid (chemical burns are bad).
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 23, 2020 16:19:33 GMT -5
I think you would get better results soaking in oxalic acid. You can buy it in powdered form and it mixes with water. It's inexpensive and not as hazardous as muriatic, sulfuric, etc... I think tumbling with dry media won't do much to clean it up and tumbling with any kind of SIC will remove features from the rock you probably want to keep. If you have a little money to spend spot cleaning guns are great for cleaning stuff like this too. They won't remove stains (that's what the acid does) but they'll blast all the dirt and crud out of all the crevices. If you don't want to buy a spot gun just use an old toothbrush and elbow grease after the oxalic acid soak. I have oxalic acid on hand, commonly called wood bleach. I use it as a bee keeper to treat my hives for mites. Would it be a 50/50 mixture water to acid?
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Post by knave on Apr 23, 2020 16:26:57 GMT -5
I think you would get better results soaking in oxalic acid. You can buy it in powdered form and it mixes with water. It's inexpensive and not as hazardous as muriatic, sulfuric, etc... I think tumbling with dry media won't do much to clean it up and tumbling with any kind of SIC will remove features from the rock you probably want to keep. If you have a little money to spend spot cleaning guns are great for cleaning stuff like this too. They won't remove stains (that's what the acid does) but they'll blast all the dirt and crud out of all the crevices. If you don't want to buy a spot gun just use an old toothbrush and elbow grease after the oxalic acid soak. I have oxalic acid on hand, commonly called wood bleach. I use it as a bee keeper to treat my hives for mites. Would it be a 50/50 mixture water to acid? How did your bees do this winter?
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 23, 2020 16:33:15 GMT -5
I have oxalic acid on hand, commonly called wood bleach. I use it as a bee keeper to treat my hives for mites. Would it be a 50/50 mixture water to acid? How did your bees do this winter? They're actually doing very well now considering the weather. I have 15 booming hives going into spring.
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Post by knave on Apr 23, 2020 16:34:00 GMT -5
My dad will be making lots of splits also.
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 23, 2020 16:39:31 GMT -5
Yes, I will be also. The weather has been cold and terrible here. Still waiting for spring.
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Apr 23, 2020 17:17:17 GMT -5
Clorox toilet bowl cleaner might work well, pour some in a bowl and when you are done, pour the bowl in the stool. Get double usage that way ! The bowl cleaner takes off hard water stains and not the finish, should work like it does in the stool as you don't have to scrub afterwards, the bowl just magically turns white .
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Post by knave on Apr 23, 2020 17:19:48 GMT -5
Product called Santeen is very strong maybe too strong but it would clean it up. I think it is HC acid
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 24, 2020 9:10:41 GMT -5
Clorox toilet bowl cleaner might work well, pour some in a bowl and when you are done, pour the bowl in the stool. Get double usage that way ! The bowl cleaner takes off hard water stains and not the finish, should work like it does in the stool as you don't have to scrub afterwards, the bowl just magically turns white . Going to try Clorox bowl cleaner today. I will take some pictures after I have let it soak a couple of days. Thanks for the idea.
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JBe
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by JBe on Apr 24, 2020 12:57:54 GMT -5
I think you would get better results soaking in oxalic acid. You can buy it in powdered form and it mixes with water. It's inexpensive and not as hazardous as muriatic, sulfuric, etc... I think tumbling with dry media won't do much to clean it up and tumbling with any kind of SIC will remove features from the rock you probably want to keep. If you have a little money to spend spot cleaning guns are great for cleaning stuff like this too. They won't remove stains (that's what the acid does) but they'll blast all the dirt and crud out of all the crevices. If you don't want to buy a spot gun just use an old toothbrush and elbow grease after the oxalic acid soak. I have oxalic acid on hand, commonly called wood bleach. I use it as a bee keeper to treat my hives for mites. Would it be a 50/50 mixture water to acid? The guidance I've seen is about 4 Tbs per gallon of water. This is what I use. Too strong a mixture can stain crystals (go figure...).
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Apr 24, 2020 13:33:21 GMT -5
I wouldn't soak your rock for days, in about 1 hour hard water stains are totally gone from the bowl. Try letting it soak while you have lunch or supper, that should have it as white as a Sno-flake ! You can always throw it back in for longer !
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billdean
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 153
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Post by billdean on Apr 26, 2020 20:12:41 GMT -5
The toilet bowl cleaner did help it a bunch. I left it in the for about 24 hours. Scrubbed it with a tooth brush after, and rinsed it well. Still waiting for my first stage 1 tumble. They have been tumbling now for 6 weeks and still seems they have a long way to go. I think I might need a saw to shape them somewhat before throwing them in. Its taking forever!
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