[meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions

From: R N Hartman <rhartman04_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:37:29 -0700
Message-ID: <16466B4C53A6491E885CA6C157C9F6A4_at_DBZC5NB1>

Hello Shawn,

The radio shack etchant is ferric chloride and it works very fast. It is a
deep etch and will give more contast and bring out detail you will not get
using Nitric. (We etched a Fredericksberg Hexahedrite for Richard Norton
once and brough out much Neumann line structure, and he was overjoyed!) You
want to polish your iron meteorite out to a mirror finish (moreso than if
you used nitric) Traditional nitric acid will give a nice etch if you sand
down to a #400. For preparing your speciomen with the RS FeCl etchant you
should go to #1200 or sometimes #2400 grit. Your previous coating and and
residual surface structures will be gone at this point. Now hold the
prepared surface under running water and quickly coat the speciment with the
RS etchant using a broad brush (abou an inch). Dabbing may give uneven
results as it sometimes will bring out the pattern almost instantly. If
your etched surface turns dark you have over etched and you need to start
over. When satisfied, rinse quickly and thoroughly to remove any residual
ferric chloride. Then rinse thoroughly in at least a 90% Isopropyl alchhol.
No need to go to a 100% because once you begin to use it you have
contaminated it by a few percent water. If it seems stable, submirse in a
container of the ATF fluid. Here is the trick. Put into a oven and heat
until you see bubbles coming out of the cracks and fissures of the
meteorite. You will be surprised how much water is still in the fissures.
After a couple of hours let cool in the oven. During this process the metal
will have expanded and any bubbles of water and other contaminants will have
been purged from the meteorite and the fissures will fill with the AFT and
seal. It is failure to do this which eventually leads to rusting as
virtually noone goes through this step. After cooling remove the meteorite
and allow a very thin coating to puddle on the surface, but wipe off any
excess. Let dry for 2 or 3 days naturally. (Preferably upside down in a
box so as not to allow dust to get embedded in the surface while sticky.)
When dry you will have a nice protective coating from the ATF fluid. Metal
with ATF on it will not rust. But be sure that you have treated the cracks
and fussures.

Exact temperatures in the oven: Much higher than if you put in an iron
meteorite not in fluid (maybe 200+ degrees). The surface would turn color
and you may ruin it.
You need to experiment but don't cause an explosion or burn down your house.
I offer these suggestions as a guideline, but I DO NOT ASSUME ANY
RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS, and be careful when using any etchant.
Wear potective gloves so you don't stain your fingers. We have found
parameters that work for us - nothing rusts, not even ruster Campos! You
may have to adjust times and temperatures used with dufferent meteorites.

Good luck. Let me know how you do.

(Use of AFT fluid developed by Jim Hartman who first noticed in 2000 in an
auto wrecking yard that piles of junk iron that had had AFT fluid dripped on
it were shiny bright where the fluid had dripped.
.
See our article on eiching in the archives of the METEORITE TIMES.
http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2002/November/meteorites_101.htm
(c) 2001 Ronald N Hartman / James C. Hartman

Ron Hartman

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Mulgrew" <mikestang at gmail.com>
To: "Shawn Alan" <photophlow at yahoo.com>
Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions


> Hi, Shawn.
>
> I use CLR on a Q-tip to remove rust, and rinse off the CLR with
> isopropyl alcohol.
>
> Rather than hassle with nitric acid solutions I use computer board
> etchant that you can purchase at any Radio Shack
> (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102868). Dab
> it on with a foam brush and rinse with warm water, followed by an iso
> alcohol rinse and a couple hours in the oven to dry. After it's dry I
> apply a light coat of automatic transmission fluid. I don't use
> lacquer because if I don't want to seal anything in by accident, and I
> prefer to be able to quickly re-clean if needed.
>
> Here's a small Campo slice I recently rehab'd, it came out great!
> http://api.ning.com/files/TTNq51g3PmEprv8cGklQmHxEnDH*40GU9qqeWlLVr3cNNcgRVd*HYBhyOcU19upJ1sNWmzTcdWSxWfxxyek*qZu-H3pLDerR/camporehab.jpg
>
> Best,
> Michael in so. Cal.
>
> On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 3:40 PM, Shawn Alan <photophlow at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hello Listers
>>
>> For all of you that collect irons I have a couple questions. The first
>> one is I know some people seal their iron slices with a clear coat
>> lacker, now is this safe to do if done right, and if so, what is the
>> producted used. If someone wants to take it off the clear coat what can
>> be used? Could acetone be a good agent to take off the coating?
>>
>> Second question what do people use to etch an iron. I have seen some
>> videos but nothing talks about the acid used or the strength or I must
>> have missed something. Also if there is some lite rust on the slice,
>> whats a good agent to clean off the slice before etching. Why I aske is
>> because I have an iron that is etched on one side and on the other side
>> its kinda etched with some cool looking saw marks but could be etched
>> more. I would like to have both side etched nicely and see what peoples
>> thoughts are.
>>
>> Shawn Alan
>> IMCA 1633
>> eBaystore
>> http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html
>>
>>
>>
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Received on Thu 16 Jun 2011 10:37:29 PM PDT