Tips, tools, and techniques for cleaning minerals   Managing a Collection Getting Serious Labels Sizes Trimming Cleaning Displaying Disposing

Chapter 7 page 5 Cleaning Minerals This is an outline of this article ...we're working on it. if you are cleaning quartz crystals, go to Chapter 1 and see the specialized method for working with quartz Tools: toothbrush soap and water dental pick ultrasonic cleaner garden hose pressure sprayer high pressure needle sprayer certain chemicals Screen table for washing High pressure needle sprayer This kind of spray gun produces a needle-fine stream of water at about 1000 pounds of pressure. The Krebs cleaning gun normally would have a pint container on the bottom, but for cleaning large numbers of samples I have modified the water feed via a piece of aquarium hose which is cemented into the bottom of a 5-gallon plastic bucket. The bucket hangs from a rafter in my shed so that I do not have to stop to fill the dinky pint container every few minutes. I top off the bucket with a garden hose every day or so when in use. The cleaning gun is also suspended from another rafter with a spring so I can let go of it and it hangs there at the work level. Needle guns are very good for working with small specimens to remove clay, dirt, and blast dust. The Krebs has an adjustable nozzle so I can rinse delicate specimens without damaging fibrous crystals or change to a needle spray to knock off stubborn clay and clean crevices and pockets on specimens before acid treatment. Screen washing table. A homemade screen table using 1/4 inch hardware cloth. Handy for rinsing the bulk of dried clay and dirt off specimens with a garden hose or pressure sprayer. Note that it is built low to the ground so when washing I don't blast the specimens off the table onto the ground. I also built a raised board walkway beside this table because I got tired of having muddy shoes all the time. Specific Minerals: Amber: To clean amber, first rinse with water and gently scrub with a soft toothbrush, then pat dry. Next, drop a small piece in acetone (you can get a small can in the paint section of your local hardware store). Just a rinse really is what you want as the amber will begin to dissolve, leaving a shiny surface luster as it dries.     next page is displaying minerals Ch 7 page 5 JMichaelHoward@rockhoundingAR.com revised May 2000 ©Rockhounding Arkansas 1998 http://rockhoundingAR.com