jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Jun 9, 2013 19:59:37 GMT -5
The vaseline worked best.Left a batch on a hot lamp shade and see no change or oily texture.It worked so well that i will not deal w/epxoy.But porous or crumbly material would benefit from vacumn epoxy.I would use slow dry.
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 26, 2019 19:08:34 GMT -5
Apologies (not really) for resurrecting this thread. jamesp inquiring minds want to know- what is the long term prognosis of this treatment? Did the colors hold up or did you have to do additional applications over the years? I have no plans to do this any time soon, just very curious. Thanks, Al
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Post by grumpybill on Mar 28, 2019 12:23:29 GMT -5
Apologies (not really) for resurrecting this thread. Thanks for the resurrection! I don't have a cabbing setup or flat lap and have been wondering what to do with a soft/porous rock I've had sitting on a shelf for the last year. So... After reading this I rubbed some Vaseline on a piece and heated it for a few minutes in a microwave along with a cup of water. Thinking the heat will speed up the absorption process. (Surprisingly, the rock got hotter than the water.) I'll let it sit for a few days and report back with photos. EDIT: Well, it seems the vacuum is a necessary component. It's been 24 hours and, even with repeated heatings, the rock still has a greasy feel. I'll give it another day before calling the experiment a failure.
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Post by Rockindad on Mar 30, 2019 15:33:10 GMT -5
Apologies (not really) for resurrecting this thread. Thanks for the resurrection! I don't have a cabbing setup or flat lap and have been wondering what to do with a soft/porous rock I've had sitting on a shelf for the last year. So... After reading this I rubbed some Vaseline on a piece and heated it for a few minutes in a microwave along with a cup of water. Thinking the heat will speed up the absorption process. (Surprisingly, the rock got hotter than the water.) I'll let it sit for a few days and report back with photos. EDIT: Well, it seems the vacuum is a necessary component. It's been 24 hours and, even with repeated heatings, the rock still has a greasy feel. I'll give it another day before calling the experiment a failure. Interesting, looking forward to your update. Al
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Post by grumpybill on Apr 7, 2019 7:34:54 GMT -5
UPDATE: It took several days and quite a few heatings for the Vaseline to soak in enough to not feel greasy. It's been 10 days and, based on the edges of the stone, the grease has penetrated about 1/4". This photo was taken this morning. The darker area on the left, untreated, side is a greasy thumbprint while handling. The "X marks the spot" (lower center) is from a scratch test I did when I first got it. I was told the stone is "rainbow calcite" when I got it.
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Post by Rockindad on Apr 7, 2019 8:07:32 GMT -5
UPDATE: It took several days and quite a few heatings for the Vaseline to soak in enough to not feel greasy. It's been 10 days and, based on the edges of the stone, the grease has penetrated about 1/4". This photo was taken this morning. The darker area on the left, untreated, side is a greasy thumbprint while handling. The "X marks the spot" (lower center) is from a scratch test I did when I first got it. I was told the stone is "rainbow calcite" when I got it. Thanks for the update. It would be interesting to see how this holds up over time. Al
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Post by grumpybill on Apr 7, 2019 8:27:21 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. It would be interesting to see how this holds up over time. Yeah. I'm gonna put the stone back in storage and see what happens over time. I think I've noticed a lightening of the effect over the past week. Probably because the petroleum jelly continues to wick deeper into the stone. It's about 3" thick. The "enhancement" would probably stabilize much quicker in a typical slab. I might try it on some rhyolite slices that didn't tumble polish very well.
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Post by Rockindad on Apr 7, 2019 8:41:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. It would be interesting to see how this holds up over time. Yeah. I'm gonna put the stone back in storage and see what happens over time. I think I've noticed a lightening of the effect over the past week. Probably because the petroleum jelly continues to wick deeper into the stone. It's about 3" thick. The "enhancement" would probably stabilize much quicker in a typical slab. I might try it on some rhyolite slices that didn't tumble polish very well. One of the things I was wondering about was that if the treatment did not hold up was it because it was just not very durable or did it have to be reapplied to the point of saturation. Interesting, let us know how it holds up. Al
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Post by grumpybill on Apr 7, 2019 9:49:44 GMT -5
Since petroleum jelly doesn't evaporate or deteriorate, I would expect the effect to last indefinitely once it has evenly distributed throughout the stone. A large piece like I experimented with will probably need reapplication over time...which I'm unlikely to do. I'm guessing a slab would probably settle-in after a week or so if the grease is applied to all sides.
A fun experiment, but doubtful anything I'll do on a regular basis.
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