[meteorite-list] Brahin stability

From: Sterling K. Webb <kelly_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:28:11 2004
Message-ID: <3F7A1A4A.456654FA_at_bhil.com>

Hi, Martin,

    I bought a 40 gram slice about two years ago from Koutyrev/finmet, who
advertised that the slicing, etc. was done without any contact with water. (This
was before any "new" method.) Beautiful. I put it in an acrylic display box.
Three weeks later, it was rusty everywhere. I processed it according to Steve
Schoner's method for two weeks, polished it off, baked it in an oven, put it in
another acrylic display box which I sealed thoroughly. Three weeks later, it was
rusty everywhere.
    I repeated the chemical treatment, but for a much longer time. The result
was the same, a rusty Brahin, which is now slowly disintegrating. I think it has
another year or two to go before all the iron is gone and I have a box of
expensive olivine crystals.


Sterling K. Webb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Altmann wrote:

> Hi again,
>
> does anyone has experiences with the Brahins from Koutyrev/finmet?
> He praises them to be totally stable for years (you can put in salt
> water..), due to a new method.
> I wonder, how he could know that his method helps, as he uses it obviously
> not longer than a year or so (as far as I observed his auctions).
>
> >From one of Serge's pieces I grinded off (dry) the glue, for testing, what
> will happen. It started immediately to develope rust traces and after 2
> months, it was so swollen (lawrencite?) that I hid away for not getting hurt
> in a potential explosion.
>
> Martin
Received on Tue 30 Sep 2003 08:05:30 PM PDT