[meteorite-list] Big-Ass Purple Campo

2003-03-22 Thread Bob Martino
All,

And now for an update on the Big-Ass Campo formerly known as Rusty.

As you may recall (those who care, anyway), I bought a 19-pound Campo at the
Tucson 2003 show this year. No New Campo this, it was definitely an
Old-School specimen. Totally covered in rust.

I contacted Bill Mason and bought one of his new Meteorite Treatment Kits.
Unfortunately, I've had mixed results with it.

Yes, the rust-eating acid worked very well indeed. Unfortunately, the
instructions included with the kit left a bit to be desired. In one place
they say to neutralize the acid next, then soak it in alcohol. In another
place, it wrongly states to soak in alcohol first and _then_ use the acid
neutralizer. (Guess which instructions I followed.) I also followed the
instruction set which didn't happen to mention that the acid neutralizer
needs to be diluted with water first (In one place the instructions say
dilute 10:1 with water, and in another it says 20:1). The result was a
sticky meteorite with way too much neutralizer on it. Thus, when the oven
baking was in progress, my house was filled with a nasty burning chemical
stink. The heat also apparently destroyed the neutralizer chemicals, leaving
me with an ugly white deposit on the specimen (The fact that the cat grew
another head is probably just a coincidence).

So I went back and re-did the whole thing. At least the acid treatment went
fast because most of the rust was already gone. I also took the time to work
over my 4-inch long Nantan with the rust remover (It's now a nice 2-inch
long Nantan). I got the order of treatment and the concentration of
chemicals correct this time, I think.

Everything went well until the final coating with the spray-on sealant. Now,
my Nantan and my Campo are purple.

I can think of perhaps three reasons for this:

(1) I left the two specimens in the sun all day to dry  cure the spray
coating. Did a chemical/color change occur because of light, heat, or both?
(2) Perhaps the acid neutralizer was still too concentrated. There may have
been a reaction between the neutralizer and the spray-on coating.
(3) Perhaps the spray-on coating is simply too thick. I used four coats. The
instructions _did_ say spray on more layers to add mil thickness, but then
again, they failed me before.

There is nothing in the instructions warning about Purple Haze or how to
avoid it.

Has anyone else have this problem?

So now I'm faced with removing the coating with acetone and trying yet
again. I'm also wondering how the acetone will affect the special
rust-inhibiting chemicals applied to the specimen by the various treatment
steps. Will I have to start all over again, or can I just spray on a new
coating and not worry? More important, how do I prevent the Purple Haze from
returning?

-
Bob Martino, Tucson, AZ

Can you really name a star?  Read the Truth!
http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/
.




__
Meteorite-list mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list


Re: [meteorite-list] Big-Ass Purple Campo

2003-03-22 Thread Michael L Blood
Man,
Thanks for the rundown. Boy, am I glad I didn't get any of that
s--t! 
For my nifty Tazas, I guess I'll resort to the trusty DW40 overnight
followed by soft wire brush on a flexible shaft.
Best wishes, Michael


on 3/22/03 10:29 AM, Bob Martino at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 All,
 
 And now for an update on the Big-Ass Campo formerly known as Rusty.
 
 As you may recall (those who care, anyway), I bought a 19-pound Campo at the
 Tucson 2003 show this year. No New Campo this, it was definitely an
 Old-School specimen. Totally covered in rust.
 
 I contacted Bill Mason and bought one of his new Meteorite Treatment Kits.
 Unfortunately, I've had mixed results with it.
 
 Yes, the rust-eating acid worked very well indeed. Unfortunately, the
 instructions included with the kit left a bit to be desired. In one place
 they say to neutralize the acid next, then soak it in alcohol. In another
 place, it wrongly states to soak in alcohol first and _then_ use the acid
 neutralizer. (Guess which instructions I followed.) I also followed the
 instruction set which didn't happen to mention that the acid neutralizer
 needs to be diluted with water first (In one place the instructions say
 dilute 10:1 with water, and in another it says 20:1). The result was a
 sticky meteorite with way too much neutralizer on it. Thus, when the oven
 baking was in progress, my house was filled with a nasty burning chemical
 stink. The heat also apparently destroyed the neutralizer chemicals, leaving
 me with an ugly white deposit on the specimen (The fact that the cat grew
 another head is probably just a coincidence).
 
 So I went back and re-did the whole thing. At least the acid treatment went
 fast because most of the rust was already gone. I also took the time to work
 over my 4-inch long Nantan with the rust remover (It's now a nice 2-inch
 long Nantan). I got the order of treatment and the concentration of
 chemicals correct this time, I think.
 
 Everything went well until the final coating with the spray-on sealant. Now,
 my Nantan and my Campo are purple.
 
 I can think of perhaps three reasons for this:
 
 (1) I left the two specimens in the sun all day to dry  cure the spray
 coating. Did a chemical/color change occur because of light, heat, or both?
 (2) Perhaps the acid neutralizer was still too concentrated. There may have
 been a reaction between the neutralizer and the spray-on coating.
 (3) Perhaps the spray-on coating is simply too thick. I used four coats. The
 instructions _did_ say spray on more layers to add mil thickness, but then
 again, they failed me before.
 
 There is nothing in the instructions warning about Purple Haze or how to
 avoid it.
 
 Has anyone else have this problem?
 
 So now I'm faced with removing the coating with acetone and trying yet
 again. I'm also wondering how the acetone will affect the special
 rust-inhibiting chemicals applied to the specimen by the various treatment
 steps. Will I have to start all over again, or can I just spray on a new
 coating and not worry? More important, how do I prevent the Purple Haze from
 returning?
 
 -
 Bob Martino, Tucson, AZ
 
 Can you really name a star?  Read the Truth!
 http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/
 .
 
 
 
 
 __
 Meteorite-list mailing list
 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so
certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.
Bertrand Russell
--
Worth Seeing:
-  Earth at night from satelite:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg
- Interactive Lady Liberty:
http://doody36.home.attbi.com/liberty.htm
- Earth - variety of choices:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/vplanet.html
--
Panoramic view of Meteor Crater:
http://www.virtualguidebooks.com/Arizona/GrandCanyonRoute66/MeteorCrater/Met
eorCraterRimL.html
--
Cool Calendar  Clock:
  http://www.yugop.com/ver3/stuff/03/fla.html
--
Michael Blood Meteorites  Didgeridoos for sale at:
http://www.michaelbloodmeteorites.com/




__
Meteorite-list mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list