Should I put these two in Iron Out?

[ericabelle]

Here are a couple of rocks that were in a lot of auction rocks I bought with lots of iron covering them.  Or maybe that's their whole makeup? Both look pretty cool as-is - I just wonder if there is something better underneath...

Rock#1  - Kind of botryoidal. In the second photo you can see some reddish-maroon areas. Those areas get bright red when I scratch the "crust" off.  I think you can see this in the second photo on the lower left of the rock - it is a bright red there.






Rock #2 I suspect is pyrite underneath, but that's just a common mineral that I know.  when I scratch it a couple places look gold underneath and a few places I really couldn't get much "crust" off.  I don't know if it would hurt pyrite to be soaked in Iron Out or not.

[fernwood]

Could the outer layer be limonite?

[khara]

They kind of look like they might be Carnelian to me, especially if you are still seeing red after being able to scrape some crust off. I don’t know, tough choice, they do look cool as is. I dug some carnelian years ago and cleaned it in muriatic acid. There was some druzy that got nice and clear and then I also ground and polished some faces to make a nice little display piece. The shape of that first one looks like there might be some banding going on along with the cool botroidals.

[ericabelle]

Dec 26, 2022 15:29:52 GMT -5 fernwood said:

Could the outer layer be limonite?

Judging by photos of limonite online, I think it could be. Whatever it is, it's pretty thick.

[ericabelle]

Dec 26, 2022 17:12:47 GMT -5 khara said:

They kind of look like they might be Carnelian to me, especially if you are still seeing red after being able to scrape some crust off. I don’t know, tough choice, they do look cool as is. I dug some carnelian years ago and cleaned it in muriatic acid. There was some druzy that got nice and clear and then I also ground and polished some faces to make a nice little display piece. The shape of that first one looks like there might be some banding going on along with the cool botroidals.

Carnelian- yes, could be, especially the first one. It also has the look of agate on the bottom. The second one definitely has some metallic substance in it, but I'm not sure what else. I'm probably just going to have to put them in iron out and see how it turns out!

[fernwood]

This is for cleaning quartz, but it has lots of suggestions.

www.canoncitygeologyclub.com/uploads/4/5/5/2/45523343/how_to_clean_minerals_and_crystals.pdf

[Peruano]

You may end up with black, black, black.

[rmf]

ericabelle I would not use limeout. You have a Limonite psuedomorph after Pyrite. Is this two different stones? The last two images have what looks like Pyrite crystals. These then would be altered to the limonite. The top images look like botryoidal pyrite again converted to limonite. clean with brush and mild abrasive or sandblast with baking soda.

[ericabelle]

Dec 28, 2022 8:33:26 GMT -5 rmf said:

ericabelle I would not use limeout. You have a Limonite psuedomorph after Pyrite. Is this two different stones? The last two images have what looks like Pyrite crystals. These then would be altered to the limonite. The top images look like botryoidal pyrite again converted to limonite. clean with brush and mild abrasive or sandblast with baking soda.

No, I wasn't thinking of using limeout.  I think the second rock definitely has some pyrite, so I've been researching the different ways of cleaning pyrite.  Apparently, a lot of people soak in Iron Out or Simple Green.  But, I'll try brushing it first.  What would you consider a mild abrasive?  Borax maybe?  I also have some Barkeeper's Friend, but that may not be too mild. 

[rmf]

ericabelle the best way to clean pyrite crystals is with a sand blaster and baking soda. If just a piece or two try baking soda with tooth brush.