[meteorite-list] Fw: etching with radio shack etchant

[Matthew Martin]

Aloha Ron,

Since reading the article and you and your son wrote, I have used  
nothing but Ferric Chloride to etch my irons.  Your directions were  
very thorough.  A few months ago I etched a Campo that I resurrected  
from a rusty graveyard and it produced a gorgeous pattern using FC.   
Of course after sanding, I polished it before etching.  Don't let one  
sour grape get at you--especially since he didn't follow your  
directions correctly.  Even though it's been eight years since your  
article was published, I want to say "thank you" to you and Jim for  
your contribution to the field; It gave me the confidence to etch my  
own irons...and with stunning results!

Matthew



Quoting R N Hartman <rhartman04 at earthlink.net>:

> I was just browsing through some of the posts on Joes Skyrockcafe
> website when I ran across a post from a collector who was unhappy with
> the Radio Shack etchant for iron meteorites.  He claims to have sanded
> a Campo down to #400 but could not get a Widmanstatten pattern,
> although he did get a beautiful pattern using the traditional Nitric
> method.
>
> My son, Jim, and I posted an article in the November 2002 issue of the
> Meteorite Times about preparing and etching irons using Ferric Chloride
> (which is the same material as used in the Radio Shack etchant).  The
> method has been used widely since that time with outstanding success by
> many and with superior results, so there is now an undisputed 8 year
> positive history.  Etches show more contrast and subtle details come
> out more readily, and fears of ferric chloride use have been put to
> rest as the specimens are not rusting and crumbling.  In fact, they do
> just as well if not better than when etched with nitric. (But that is a
> topic for another day.)
>
> I think the problem of the person in posting his negative experience
> was that after grinding down to a #400 grit that he did not then polish
> out the surface.  Unlike preparing an iron to etch with nitric acid,
> the surface wants to have a highly reflective mirror-like surface
> before etching.  As we say in the article, however, every meteorite is
> different and can react differently to different circumstances, so he
> may have just had an unusual, but uncommon, experience.  He may have a
> very different experience with a different Campo.  (I have many
> Ferric-etched slices of Campos in my personal collection and they are
> all doing well.)
>
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