[meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions

From: John Lutzon <jl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:15:52 -0400
Message-ID: <B7E158B480A14009B1144FE7FFC4625E_at_Home>

Ron,

I'm sure many are thanking you--me, most of all.

Your post is a great comprehensive procedure for etching.

I now see my past problems--leaving the FC on for too long and not oiling
first.

Many thanks
John Lutzon
IMCA# 1896

----- Original Message -----
From: "R N Hartman" <rhartman04 at earthlink.net>
To: "Michael Mulgrew" <mikestang at gmail.com>; "Shawn Alan"
<photophlow at yahoo.com>
Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions


> 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 11:15:52 PM PDT