[meteorite-list] HELP! My Ghubara is bleeding!

From: tett <tett_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:53:38 2004
Message-ID: <00a901c2b116$d689d7f0$6400a8c0_at_Tettenborn>

Dave,

It sounds like Lawrencite disease. Here trapped ferric chloride is reacting
with the air to cause this problem. See Norton's "Rocks from Space" 2nd ed.
page 169.

DO NOT COAT IT! This will only trap the nasty stuff inside and could make
it worse in the long run. Best thing is to soak your slice in pure alcohol
(ethanol) for a month. Ghubara is a relatively stable stone and good soak
is all that should be needed. After soaking bake in a warm oven for a few
hours to drive any moisture away. 250 F. is warm enough. I don't think it
is a good idea to go any hotter. If needed, store it in an air tight
container with a desiccant pack. A simple poly bag works just fine. Ron
Hartman sells these supplies. http://www.meteorite1.com/

If this does not work then you may have to get more drastic and soak your
slice in a solution of sodium hydroxide and water and alcohol. I use 70%
isopropyl alcohol which already has water in it and then add sodium
hydroxide to the saturation point. HOWEVER, I do not know if this works on
stones. I have had great success with Brahin slices and some limited
success with iron slices. The sodium hydroxide helps to dissolve the
chlorides. Many hardware stores have this stuff and sell it as LYE.

If you go this route then please be very careful as sodium hydroxide is
dangerous. It will burn you if you get any of it on your skin and could
cause blindness. Good lab safety practice is needed when working with this
stuff.

Once you have the bleeding stopped you may then want to coat it. I don't
like coating meteorites because it alters the look and still may just delay
more bleeding and make the problem worse later on.

Cheers and Happy New Year,

Mike Tettenborn

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Schultz" <indy1996_at_yahoo.com>
To: <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2002 3:47 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] HELP! My Ghubara is bleeding!


> Greetings and Happy New Year list members. I have a
> beautiful 125 gram slice of Ghubara, and just recently
> noticed that it is starting to bleed rust a little.
> Need a little help in stopping this problem before it
> destroys it. Also, would coating it with polyeurathene
> help any after I get it cleaned up or because it may
> be rusting from the inside, that wouldn`t help much???
> Thanks in advance. Dave Schultz
>
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Received on Tue 31 Dec 2002 04:51:56 PM PST