Biz Sort of worked for Amethyst cleaning

[fernwood]

This is one of the specimens I dug out of the yard at my old place. A 30+ lb Amethyst/Granite from Thunder Bay. The first two before photos are after I sprayed it with Kaboom, let it sit for 15 minutes, and then scrubbed for another 15 minutes. Some of the crystals were coming off, so I stopped. Then saw where a Biz detergent soak works to remove the green stuff. Let it soak in a solution of 2 ½ gallons of water and 2 cups Biz for about 20 hours. A quick spray, and 10 minutes of gentle scrubbing worked pretty good. Do not know how to get the rest of the green stuff off. Maybe it is permanent, as a lot of it is between the crystals. Want to keep this large one intact.  Still love this new and improved large Amethyst. Have tumbled a lot of it in the past and used for jewelry.

Before







After

[Deleted]

Are the green stones vermarine?

I have been using Oxyclean to clean EVERYTHING lately.

The powder releases very strong hydrogen peroxide and bleaches anything organic. The other byproduct is sodium carbonate, a high pH salt that also helps with organics.

[fernwood]

Thanks, will try that next. I think the green is organic things due to being outside for so long.

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2016 19:26:59 GMT -5 fernwood said:

Thanks, will try that next. I think the green is organic things due to being outside for so long.

If it's green after oxyclean? It ain't organic and you have vermarine.

[fernwood]

That would be great. Already appears to be some citrine in there. Will try cleaning again next week if not sooner. Also maybe looking under magnifier.