[meteorite-list] Stopping Rust & Preserving Iron Meteorites - THIS WORKS!

From: Steven Schoner <american_meteorite_survey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:08:27 2004
Message-ID: <20020918205331.55428.qmail_at_web11402.mail.yahoo.com>

--- marsroxx_at_theofficenet.com wrote:
>
> Dear Jeff and Steve,
> What proportions of Alcohol and Hydroxide do you
> use?
> Thanks
> Alan Gayda
>
>


Use 70% isopropyl and then add about one level
teaspoon of red devil lye to every 6 oz of that.

You want saturation, so not all of it will dissolve.

Steve Schoner.


>
> Quoting Steven Schoner
> <american_meteorite_survey_at_yahoo.com>:
>
> > And I might also add that the process that I
> devised
> > also works well with Brahin. But with pallasites
> one
> > has to be careful as some of the olivines have a
> > tendency to rise out of their sockets as the FeCl3
> is
> > converted to FeOH. Then during drying the FeOH is
> > converted to iron oxides. And the olivines are at
> > this point fairly secure. But what I do is use
> > superglue to fix all the olivines then sand it
> down.
> > I then leave the pallasite slices uncoated after
> > polishing for several weeks. If they don't rust
> then
> > I heat them to 150 degrees then dip them in
> > polyurethane and allow them to dry.
> >
> > They never rust again.
> >
> > The process also works very well with the
> problematic
> > Lamont mesosiderite as well.
> >
> >
> > Steve Schoner
> > American Meteorite Survey.
> >
> >
> > --- Jeff Kuyken <jeff_at_meteoritesaustralia.com>
> wrote:
> > > G'day List,
> > > A couple of months ago I wrote to the list
> asking
> > > for help to stop my Chinga slice rusting. There
> have
> > > been a few posts since then asking similar
> questions
> > > so I thought I would share this with everyone.
> > > Before I continue, I really need to mention that
> the
> > > problematic 111g slice of Chinga arrived to me
> > > rusting in a way that would have put any Nantan
> to
> > > shame! John Gwilliam replied to my post with a
> great
> > > process that I have tried and has worked
> extremely
> > > well. Thanks John. It has been several weeks now
> and
> > > not even the slightest hint of rust has
> reoccurred.
> > > I have included the post below.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Jeff Kuyken
> > > I.M.C.A. #3085
> > > www.meteoritesaustralia.com
> > >
> > > "Hello Jeff and List,
> > >
> > > According to Ivan Koutyrev, all the Chinga irons
> > > they have found have been
> > > recovered in stream beds. This means that the
> irons
> > > have been in almost
> > > constant contact with water for a long time.
> Over
> > > hundreds of years, rust
> > > has been able to migrate into the interior where
> it
> > > can be a chronic
> > > problem if not treated properly.
> > >
> > > After the meteorite has been sliced, I sand down
> the
> > > flat surfaces starting
> > > with a 100 grit or even a fresh 220 grit sanding
> > > belt (on a water cooled
> > > lapidary sander). Successively finer grits are
> used
> > > until I'm down to a
> > > worn 600 grit belt. Remember to wash the iron
> slice
> > > and rinse in anhydrous
> > > alcohol in between every grit change so you
> don't
> > > have a stray piece of
> > > larger grit mess up your polished surface.
> After
> > > the worn 600 grit
> > > polish, I treat the specimen for 5 - 10 days in
> the
> > > alcohol/ sodium
> > > hydroxide bath recommended by Steve Schoner.
> This
> > > will attack the rust in
> > > the specimen and the sodium in the mix bonds
> with
> > > the chlorides in the rust
> > > and becomes common salt. Believe me, this
> solution
> > > really works. I have
> > > several slices of OLD Campos sitting unprotected
> out
> > > in my shop that were
> > > treated over 18 months ago and none of them show
> a
> > > hint of rust. For those
> > > of you interested in this process, I think you
> can
> > > find it on Eric
> > > Twelker's website.
> > >
> > > After soaking in the bath, I rinse the specimen
> > > thoroughly in FRESH
> > > anhydrous alcohol and wipe it dry.
> > >
> > > Next, I polish the slice with a muslin buff on
> a
> > > jewelers spindle. My
> > > polishing unit has dual 6" x 1" stitched cloth
> > > buffing wheels that you can
> > > mount on any motor with an arbor or spindle. My
> > > machine turns at 3,250
> > > RPMs but a slower motor in the 1,720 RPM range
> will
> > > work as well. The key
> > > to the final polish is the compound applied to
> the
> > > moving buff. I use a
> > > product manufactured for the jewelry industry
> > > called ZAM. I believe it
> > > contains chromium oxide as the polishing agent.
> It
> > > is a light green hard
> > > stick in a cardboard wrapper and is available
> from
> > > jewelry supply outfits
> > > and some lapidary shops. Several minutes of
> > > polishing will produce that
> > > mirror like polish you are looking for."
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
>
>


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Received on Wed 18 Sep 2002 04:53:31 PM PDT