mikeydbd
starting to shine!
Member since October 2020
Posts: 39
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Post by mikeydbd on Dec 7, 2020 15:13:44 GMT -5
If I were to place a polished rock and place it outside for display, would it eventually deteriorate the finish on the rock over time in the elements?
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quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Dec 7, 2020 22:11:51 GMT -5
Seems logical it would, especially if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain, rain water is slightly acidic. UV may also degrade the color and perhaps the finish too. How long would it take to damage the finish? Nice experiment.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 8, 2020 0:21:08 GMT -5
Hmmm...I was waiting for someone else to chime in on this. I'm curious to see if anyone has actual experience with this.
My thoughts...and only trying to reason...I don't see as how it would affect the polished stones. There's nothing to wear away, like a lacquer finish or paint of any kind...it's simply smoothed over surface of the rock.
If it takes eons to smooth rocks rolling around in rivers, why would a little rain, snow, sun or temperature differentials have any noticeable affect...at least in our lifetimes?
Like I said, no experience with it, just pondering the question...
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
Posts: 4,059 
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Post by gemfeller on Dec 8, 2020 1:26:15 GMT -5
Visit a graveyard and have a look. Lots of polished stones there to study. When I visited Germany I was impressed by the care they give gravestones: regular steam cleanings and other conservation work. Not so much in the U.S.
I think much would depend on the kind of stone you have in mind and the care it's given. Some stones weather and degrade very quickly, at least in the terms of human life spans; others will eventually weather and disappear over the span of many human lifetimes.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Dec 13, 2020 11:22:12 GMT -5
I had wondered this as well. I had placed some fancy Jasper Pebbles outside on my patio earlier in the summer. I took a look at them the other day to see if they were still shiny. They are but a close up picture shows that the surface is starting to craze.  The little pile of rocks is my collection of eccentric stones. They're interesting rocks that look good even unpolished. The white quartz piece even has silver in it! |
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 13, 2020 11:43:56 GMT -5
I had wondered this as well. I had placed some fancy Jasper Pebbles outside on my patio earlier in the summer. I took a look at them the other day to see if they were still shiny. They are but a close up picture shows that the surface is starting to craze. The little pile of rocks is my collection of eccentric stones. They're interesting rocks that look good even unpolished. The white quartz piece even has silver in it! I'm a sucker for conglomerates. I like that yellow/gold/gray one hiding there!  |
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Dec 13, 2020 11:55:03 GMT -5
I like that one too jasoninsd. I'm not sure where it came from but I found it in the creek one day. The grey looks like hematite that I find in the area. I also like my little football rocks that I find. You can see one of them peeking out from behind the Jaspers. |
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 13, 2020 12:04:03 GMT -5
I like that one too jasoninsd . I'm not sure where it came from but I found it in the creek one day. The grey looks like hematite that I find in the area. I also like my little football rocks that I find. You can see one of them peeking out from behind the Jaspers. My wife would be a sucker for your "Sunday" rock there at the top...you know, the "holy" one!  Every time she see a rock with a hole in it...it doesn't matter the size, into the backpack it goes! |
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Dec 13, 2020 12:33:59 GMT -5
Hah! I know what you mean. They're pretty common here for some reason. I think it's because of all the soft limestoney (is that even a word ) rock here. |
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Post by stephan on Dec 13, 2020 13:29:19 GMT -5
Over time, it will happen, but it is not something that usually happens in a quick time-frame (in geological terms), in stones that are hard enough to polish. Of course, different minerals/rocks will react to the elements in different ways. Two examples of rinds are: Nephrite jade: I’m not sure of the mechanism, or speed, but I suspect water is involved, as in obsidian (below) Obsidian: as water diffuses into obsidian, it hydrates into perlite. The thickness of the “hydration crust” can actually be used to date obsidian artifacts: www.researchgate.net/publication/312280704_Obsidian_Hydration_DatingStones that get their color from oxidized metals and their salts could change color if the elements (oxygen, water, heat...) change that oxidation state. |
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Post by pauls on Dec 13, 2020 17:31:34 GMT -5
Overall I think it will happen, how fast depends on the rock and the conditions outside.
I had a pretty piece of Boulder Opal that was too thin to do anything with but a nice specimen so I put it on display in the garden, after one summer it was completely ruined with most of the colour gone. Rhodonite rapidly weathers to a completely black skin, don't chuck it just because it just looks black, there's beauty hiding in there still.
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Post by Mel on Dec 14, 2020 17:49:07 GMT -5
Hmmm...I was waiting for someone else to chime in on this. I'm curious to see if anyone has actual experience with this. My thoughts...and only trying to reason...I don't see as how it would affect the polished stones. There's nothing to wear away, like a lacquer finish or paint of any kind...it's simply smoothed over surface of the rock. If it takes eons to smooth rocks rolling around in rivers, why would a little rain, snow, sun or temperature differentials have any noticeable affect...at least in our lifetimes? Like I said, no experience with it, just pondering the question... - In theoery yes. But you also have to account for blowing dust, dirt and debris, weather changes, and remember most of our rocks are going to be buffed to a lot higher sheen than nature will. Hmm.... I think I might just try this out! |
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lookatthat
Cave Dweller
Whatever there is to be found.
Member since May 2017
Posts: 1,360 
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Post by lookatthat on Dec 15, 2020 13:35:54 GMT -5
Like gemfeller says, visit a few cemeteries.
A hard, nearly chemically inert stone like a good-quality granite will maintain a good polish for decades if not centuries -- unless it's near a tree, which will shade it and cause lichen to grow. And then there's the problem of the tree falling on it.
Limestones deteriorate quickly due to acid rain. Marbles last somewhat longer, depending on their level of metamorphism. Anything porous won't last long due to many factors, not the least being the action of water as it freezes and thaws.
Slate varies depending on how well the layers are laminated together.
Delicate stones like opal -- nope. And I had some fluorite druzy on a garden rock that seems to have vanished.
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lthornton
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2019
Posts: 19
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Post by lthornton on Dec 16, 2020 21:29:39 GMT -5
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 16, 2020 21:32:46 GMT -5
This is a thought that I find scary/fascinating. I made a little "River" in one of my rock beds where I put my tumbled rocks that I considered rejects, plus a bunch of big ones that my husband hand polished. It never even occurred to me that the weather could harm them. I though my biggest problem would be the leaves   I am totally in love with what you did here! How peacefully beautiful!!! |
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Post by Mel on Dec 22, 2020 17:26:32 GMT -5
lthornton - I love your little river, you have some REALLY gorgeous stones there.
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Post by Starguy on Dec 22, 2020 17:56:06 GMT -5
Everything weathers. It’s the nature of time. I would think polished rocks would weather slower than un-polished rocks.
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