sphereguy
having dreams about rocks
Hello all I've been lurking for months now
Member since March 2017
Posts: 73
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Post by sphereguy on Sept 8, 2018 20:16:59 GMT -5
I am inquiring about how to or processes involved with quartz rough or finished tumbles. How to get them to the funny colors that you see at retail outlets. I have a 55 gallon drum of semi clear crushed quartz. I have tumbled about thirty lbs to a good quality polish but want to dye them to marketable colors. Any solid input would be appreciated.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2018 20:58:10 GMT -5
As dye seldom penetrates very far into the stone, you'll only want to work with pieces that have already been polished to their finished state. Mostly one sees agate dyed, and rock crystal quartz tends to take dye much slower. If you want to try, I suggest starting off with agate, quartzite or similar using fabric dye (such as RIT). You can follow the same process, but slowly heat both the stone and water to the same near-boiling temp and allow them to sit for a month or more in the dye before removing and washing (maybe longer for rock crystal). Unlike fabric, dumping rock into hot water can both crack the rock and immediately lower the temperature beyond what you want. There are other methods involving some more toxic chemistry (see the articles here), as well as coatings (CVD, etc.) and diffusion that are beyond what most hobbyists would want to try.
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sphereguy
having dreams about rocks
Hello all I've been lurking for months now
Member since March 2017
Posts: 73
|
Post by sphereguy on Sept 8, 2018 21:24:53 GMT -5
As dye seldom penetrates very far into the stone, you'll only want to work with pieces that have already been polished to their finished state. Mostly one sees agate dyed, and rock crystal quartz tends to take dye much slower. If you want to try, I suggest starting off with agate, quartzite or similar using fabric dye (such as RIT). You can follow the same process, but slowly heat both the stone and water to the same near-boiling temp and allow them to sit for a month or more in the dye before removing and washing (maybe longer for rock crystal). Unlike fabric, dumping rock into hot water can both crack the rock and immediately lower the temperature beyond what you want. There are other methods involving some more toxic chemistry (see the articles here), as well as coatings (CVD, etc.) and diffusion that are beyond what most hobbyists would want to try. Thank you. Much appreciated
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