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Post by 150FromFundy on Feb 16, 2012 13:54:59 GMT -5
I just got my Opticon in the mail and am ready for my first attempt at salvaging some cabs that have shallow pitted fractures. I have a few questions before I start.
Curing Temperature - My wife is quite tolerant of my rock addiction, but it's fair to say using the kitchen oven would be pushing the envelope. Can I use the heating rim on my Inland dop station to heat my cabs in foil pans, or is the dop station too hot?
Coat or Immerse - The instructions are a little vague on whether you coat the rock, or immerse it in a hot bath. Can I simply immerse the cabs in a 1/2" deep hot bath for a few hours?
Small Amount of Sealer - How do you apply the small amount of sealer? Can you simply use your finger protected by a rubber glove?
Sealer Curing Time - Do I really only have to wait 15-20 minutes for the sealer to set before I start to re-polish the cab?
Thanks if you can help on any of these questions.
Darryl.
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Feb 16, 2012 14:35:23 GMT -5
I use a light with a 40 watt light bulb over a piece of ceramic tile I get that on and heating up while I get the opticon mixing, then clean the stone to be pit treated with acetone and let dry. I put them under the light on the tile to get them warm then fill the pits with a tooth pick dipped in the mixed opticon and back under the bulb to cure out for a day.
for fractures I have a small deep glass ashtray that I put the stones to be treated with unmixed opticon resin under the light and let them soak in the heat for about 3 days or so then remove them from the hot resin and put in a sandwich baggie and save the resin back to the bottle while its still warm. I then put one drop of hardener per stones in the baggie and seal it and massage the stones for about 10 minutes. Remove and wipe clean and place them back under the light to cure for a day or two.
that is my basic way of using the opticon on cabs
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Feb 16, 2012 15:24:24 GMT -5
Hey Daryl!
I use it to save my best looking Lakers. I immerse. First though, I fill deep pits and cracks with 330 epoxy and let that harden.
Then when I use the Opticon: Preheat the rocks a bit, then immerse them in a (Pyrex glass) covered baking dish, and keep the temp at 200 - 250 (Fahrenheit) for a couple hours. That's about the "warm" setting for an oven -- that's what I do. I have also used a heat lamp with a 50 watt bulb.
After a couple hours, turn off the heat and let them continue to soak overnight. The next day I put on rubber gloves and use my fingers to wipe as much of the resin off each stone as I can. Watch out, they are slippery. Set them on a piece of aluminum foil until you've poured the excess resin back into the bottle and cleaned the dish with acetone. Then set them back in the dish. DO NOT even touch the catalyst until you've done that.
Then what I do is put a couple drops of the catalyst on each stone, one at a time, spread it around with my (gloved) fingers and set them back into the baking dish. This is where the instructions say to wipe them clean after 15 or 20 minutes. I let them sit for 2 or 3 hours before I do that. The catalyst should have adequately penetrated the cracks by then, but the resin is by no means hard. I wait until the next day before I put my stone into the tumbler.
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 16, 2012 16:36:33 GMT -5
for tight or deeper cracks, the hardner may not penetrate to cure the resin in the depth of the crack. in this case mixed resin on a warm stone might be best. otherwise whether you use the mix-1st or hardner 2nd method may not matter. of course, you can only poor the resin back when it is unmixed.
for the most hardness and best polish, I would wait several days. I had a think bit that I spilled once get harder and harder over a week. but that was a thick bit.
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TByrd
fully equipped rock polisher
Have you performed your random act of kindness?
Member since December 2010
Posts: 1,350
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Post by TByrd on Feb 19, 2012 9:23:25 GMT -5
Would this work for water glass as well or is that a completely different animal?
Thanks
Tammy
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Feb 19, 2012 10:20:58 GMT -5
waterglass is not a resin/harderner epoxy mix so don't know if it would work.
its a poison so handle with great care
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Feb 19, 2012 21:41:00 GMT -5
TByrd -- Take a look at the first entry in the Lapidary Tips section of the Forum.
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