goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 20
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Post by goodsgems on May 11, 2024 16:53:13 GMT -5
Hello fellow rock lovers! I've been trying to get my rough nice and clean to list them for sale and I've had good luck removing the heavy rust with oxalic acid in a crock pot for ~3 hours. However, some of my specimens, especially those I left in the heated oxalic solution overnight in my early experimentations, have developed a tough white residue which I'm assuming is calcite. I've then soaked some of these in Muriatic acid, but even when I leave them in over night, I have not been able to remove these deposits. I've been using Klean Strip, the solution with lower fumes without dilution, but I'm wondering if it's just not strong enough to remove these deposits. Any tips would be welcome! All of my specimens are Jasper, btw.
Thank you all very much!
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Post by southernlakehuronguy on May 11, 2024 19:54:42 GMT -5
Well, I'll take a poke at it, this is what Google found for me...decreasing water temperature of a system increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in water and causes calcite to dissolve.
Try a bottle of chilled carbonated water.
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Post by rmf on May 12, 2024 12:19:45 GMT -5
Rocks that have a high calcium composition and Iron should be soaked in HCl/muriatic acid first, to remove calcite. If you soak in Oxalic Acid first the oxalic acid combines with the calcium making calcium oxalate (common type of kidney stone) which is hard to remove. usually has a light yellow tint.
I have heard radio advertisement for some OTC med that prevents oxalate kidney stones. Can't remember the name but when I heard it I thought about cleaning calcium oxalate off stones. might be worth a try.
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller 
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,690 
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Post by RWA3006 on May 13, 2024 19:57:45 GMT -5
Rocks that have a high calcium composition and Iron should be soaked in HCl/muriatic acid first, to remove calcite. If you soak in Oxalic Acid first the oxalic acid combines with the calcium making calcium oxalate (common type of kidney stone) which is hard to remove. usually has a light yellow tint. I have heard radio advertisement for some OTC med that prevents oxalate kidney stones. Can't remember the name but when I heard it I thought about cleaning calcium oxalate off stones. might be worth a try. Muriatic acid as stated above. I've used diluted muriatic acid for many years and it's as safe as the person using it. Of course, make sure your specimen isn't part calcium or else you'll damage it. Wear appropriate protection to not get it in your eyes, on your skin or in the lungs. It's the stuff brick layers and stone masons use to remove efflorescence from their work. |
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 20
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Post by goodsgems on May 14, 2024 12:27:13 GMT -5
Well, I'll take a poke at it, this is what Google found for me...decreasing water temperature of a system increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolved in water and causes calcite to dissolve. Try a bottle of chilled carbonated water. Thank you for this tip! I gave the "Pellegrino Method" and try, unfortunately to no avail. Hypothesis and experiment were carried out! Thank you for this suggestion.
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 20
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Post by goodsgems on May 14, 2024 12:32:03 GMT -5
Rocks that have a high calcium composition and Iron should be soaked in HCl/muriatic acid first, to remove calcite. If you soak in Oxalic Acid first the oxalic acid combines with the calcium making calcium oxalate (common type of kidney stone) which is hard to remove. usually has a light yellow tint. I have heard radio advertisement for some OTC med that prevents oxalate kidney stones. Can't remember the name but when I heard it I thought about cleaning calcium oxalate off stones. might be worth a try.
Thank you very much for sharing your expertise!
I did a 2 hour un-dilluted muriatic soak of some rocks, let them soak for a day in water with baking soda, then transferred them to the heated oxalic solution, and unfortunately, still have some of that calcium oxalate depositing, although not as heavily as before. I've also raised my stones off the bottom of the crock pot with a modified colander to see if that would help. Some scraping with a pick removed some of the residue, but some of it still wont budge. |
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 20
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Post by goodsgems on May 14, 2024 12:36:45 GMT -5
Rocks that have a high calcium composition and Iron should be soaked in HCl/muriatic acid first, to remove calcite. If you soak in Oxalic Acid first the oxalic acid combines with the calcium making calcium oxalate (common type of kidney stone) which is hard to remove. usually has a light yellow tint. I have heard radio advertisement for some OTC med that prevents oxalate kidney stones. Can't remember the name but when I heard it I thought about cleaning calcium oxalate off stones. might be worth a try. Muriatic acid as stated above. I've used diluted muriatic acid for many years and it's as safe as the person using it. Of course, make sure your specimen isn't part calcium or else you'll damage it. Wear appropriate protection to not get it in your eyes, on your skin or in the lungs. It's the stuff brick layers and stone masons use to remove efflorescence from their work. Thank you for sharing your experience and safety tips! Rest assured, I'm decked out in PPE, full coverage goggles, chemical gloves, rubber boots. I still need to invest in a good respirator, but in the meantime I'm getting good at holding my breath when loading/unloading the rocks.
Unfortunately, even after a 24 hour soak in un-dilluted muriatic acid, the calcium oxalate deposits are still not budging! What brand of muriatic acid do you use? I'm using the Klean Strip one from Home Depot with the lower fumes as it's all they have at my location.
Thanks again!
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,690
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Post by RWA3006 on May 14, 2024 19:45:39 GMT -5
Muriatic acid as stated above. I've used diluted muriatic acid for many years and it's as safe as the person using it. Of course, make sure your specimen isn't part calcium or else you'll damage it. Wear appropriate protection to not get it in your eyes, on your skin or in the lungs. It's the stuff brick layers and stone masons use to remove efflorescence from their work. I'm using the Klean Strip one from Home Depot with the lower fumes as it's all they have at my location.
Thanks again!
The Klean Strip product is absolute trash. Use the real stuff. |
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RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,690
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Post by RWA3006 on May 14, 2024 19:46:34 GMT -5
At this very moment I'm using this. It works.  |
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Post by rmf on May 15, 2024 10:26:14 GMT -5
goodsgems Brand should not matter as long as it is HCl, check %HCl The image above says 31.34% that should be fine. Do it outside with a fan to blow fumes away if you do not have a hood to work in. keep fumes away from metal objects like cars it can corrode metal and lungs
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goodsgems
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2024
Posts: 20
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Post by goodsgems on May 20, 2024 12:43:23 GMT -5
At this very moment I'm using this. It works. Thank you very much! I will keep a look out for this one. Looks like they sell it for a good price at Ace. |
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Maybe you can post some pictures here