bowerbird
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2021
Posts: 2
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Post by bowerbird on Apr 20, 2021 9:35:36 GMT -5
I am new here (and also to rock hounding). Looking forward to learning a lot.
I collected a lot of quartz recently and soaked it in Iron Out to clean them. I noticed a very fine black residue after they'd been soaking a while. Some of settled to the bottom of the bucket but some has worked its way into tiny cracks in the quartz. Does anyone know what this is? Is there a way to get it out of the cracks? How could I prevent this in the future? Thanks.
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,989
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Post by Tommy on Apr 20, 2021 9:39:55 GMT -5
I am new here (and also to rock hounding). Looking forward to learning a lot. I collected a lot of quartz recently and soaked it in Iron Out to clean them. I noticed a very fine black residue after they'd been soaking a while. Some of settled to the bottom of the bucket but some has worked its way into tiny cracks in the quartz. Does anyone know what this is? Is there a way to get it out of the cracks? How could I prevent this in the future? Thanks. I don't have the answers to your question but I'm sure the group will have some good ideas. Welcome to the forum from Napa, CA. |
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Post by opalpyrexia on Apr 20, 2021 10:18:03 GMT -5
If you have an ultrasonic cleaner, or access to one, that might be able to dislodge the black residue.
Oh, and welcome from Washington!
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irlcjrohr
starting to spend too much on rocks
If it does not melt, polish it.
Member since April 2020
Posts: 123
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Post by irlcjrohr on Apr 20, 2021 10:22:22 GMT -5
Welcome from Wisconsin, Can you post some pictures? I have seen the same thing after using iron out on rock from the north shore of lake superior. I have been told the residue is magnesium oxide and iron oxide and they can both look black. After a soak in baking soda, I scrub with a tooth brush.
This is one I did to show how iron out works. it was completely encrusted when I found it. I removed most of the black residue. There is still some near the end and part and down the side.
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bowerbird
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2021
Posts: 2
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Post by bowerbird on Apr 22, 2021 13:09:38 GMT -5
 Sorry for the delay. I couldn't figure out the Cloudinary set up to allow me to post pictures. This picture is truly awful but you can (sort of) see the residue in the upper left part of the picture. The black residue is almost like the fine tumbling medium you use when tumbling rocks. It settles to the bottom of the bucket but it is also on the rocks themselves (not completely covering the quarts, just in patches). You don't see the black residue before you put it in the Iron Out; it only shows up after it has soaked for a few days. opalpyrexia I do have an ultrasonic cleaner so I'll try that. I do want to figure out what this is too. My US cleaner is really small so not all the quartz can fit in there. thanks |
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Post by broseph82 on May 7, 2021 21:37:00 GMT -5
I am new here (and also to rock hounding). Looking forward to learning a lot. I collected a lot of quartz recently and soaked it in Iron Out to clean them. I noticed a very fine black residue after they'd been soaking a while. Some of settled to the bottom of the bucket but some has worked its way into tiny cracks in the quartz. Does anyone know what this is? Is there a way to get it out of the cracks? How could I prevent this in the future? Thanks. It may be from your water. I’ve posted the same question years ago on Facebook lapidary group and most said it was from sink water. Use distilled next time and see if that helps. Iron out won’t clean everything.... it just doesn’t by itself. Good luck cleaning your rocks! |
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standles
spending too much on rocks
Well all I got was a rock ... Cool!
Member since February 2021
Posts: 325 
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Post by standles on May 8, 2021 7:54:56 GMT -5
I am new here (and also to rock hounding). Looking forward to learning a lot. I collected a lot of quartz recently and soaked it in Iron Out to clean them. I noticed a very fine black residue after they'd been soaking a while. Some of settled to the bottom of the bucket but some has worked its way into tiny cracks in the quartz. Does anyone know what this is? Is there a way to get it out of the cracks? How could I prevent this in the future? Thanks. Super Iron Out is likely the most commonly used commercially available reagent for removing iron staining on minerals; the primary active ingredients are sodium hydrosulfite and sodium metabisulfite which are both chelators and reducing agents. Sodium carbonate and citric acid are added as buffering agents. All other ingredients are decomposition products of sodium hydrosulfite and sodium metabisulfite. Chelation means taking the offending material (in this case iron) and combining it chemically into a residue that can more easily be removed without it recombining with the target. Same method they use for heavy metal posioning in humans. Bascially it is the iron you wanted to get rid of chemcially altered and dropped out as a precipitant. |
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Post by rmf on May 8, 2021 15:32:06 GMT -5
Why would you just not clean the Iron off with Oxalic acid like you do with geodes?
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller 
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Wooferhound on May 9, 2021 16:52:11 GMT -5
Quartz can be very uninteresting after being tumbled with little character or detail. I would not try to clean it out as it will just look more bland without any color.
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