[meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions

Thu Jun 16 23:15:52 EDT 2011

Ron,

I'm sure many are thanking you--me, most of all.

Your post is a great comprehensive procedure for etching.

I now see my past problems--leaving the FC on for too long and not oiling 
first.

Many thanks
John Lutzon
IMCA# 1896

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "R N Hartman" <rhartman04 at earthlink.net>
To: "Michael Mulgrew" <mikestang at gmail.com>; "Shawn Alan" 
<photophlow at yahoo.com>
Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions

> Hello Shawn,
>
> The radio shack etchant is ferric chloride and it works very fast.  It is 
> a deep etch and will give more contast and bring out detail you will not 
> get using Nitric.  (We etched a Fredericksberg Hexahedrite for Richard 
> Norton once and brough out much Neumann line structure, and he was 
> overjoyed!)  You want to polish your iron meteorite out to a mirror finish 
> (moreso  than if you used nitric)  Traditional nitric acid will give a 
> nice etch if you sand down to a #400.  For preparing your speciomen with 
> the RS FeCl etchant you should go to #1200 or sometimes #2400 grit.  Your 
> previous coating and and residual surface structures will be gone at this 
> point.  Now hold the prepared surface under running water and quickly coat 
> the speciment with the RS etchant using a broad brush (abou an inch). 
> Dabbing may give uneven results as it sometimes will bring out the pattern 
> almost instantly.  If your etched surface turns dark you have over etched 
> and you need to start over.  When satisfied, rinse quickly and thoroughly 
> to remove any residual ferric chloride.  Then rinse thoroughly in at least 
> a 90% Isopropyl alchhol. No need to go to a 100% because once you begin to 
> use it you have contaminated it by a few percent water.   If it seems 
> stable, submirse in a container of the ATF fluid.  Here is the trick.  Put 
> into a oven and heat until you see bubbles coming out of the cracks and 
> fissures of the meteorite.  You will be surprised how much water is still 
> in the fissures. After a couple of hours let cool in the oven. During this 
> process the metal will have expanded and any bubbles of water and other 
> contaminants will have been purged from the meteorite and the fissures 
> will fill with the AFT and seal.  It is failure to do this which 
> eventually leads to rusting as virtually noone goes through this step. 
> After cooling remove the meteorite and allow a very thin coating to puddle 
> on the surface, but wipe off any excess.  Let dry for 2 or 3 days 
> naturally.  (Preferably upside down in a box so as not to allow dust to 
> get embedded in the surface while sticky.) When dry you will have a nice 
> protective coating from the ATF fluid.  Metal with ATF on it will not 
> rust.  But be sure that you have treated the cracks and fussures.
>
> Exact temperatures in the oven: Much higher than if you put in an iron 
> meteorite not in fluid (maybe 200+ degrees). The surface would turn color 
> and you may ruin it.
> You need to experiment but don't cause an explosion or burn down your 
> house. I offer these suggestions as a guideline, but I DO NOT ASSUME ANY 
> RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS, and be careful when using any etchant. 
> Wear potective gloves so you don't stain your fingers.  We have found 
> parameters that work for us - nothing rusts, not even ruster Campos!  You 
> may have to adjust times and temperatures used with dufferent meteorites.
>
> Good luck. Let me know how you do.
>
> (Use of AFT fluid developed by Jim Hartman who first noticed in 2000 in an 
> auto wrecking yard that piles of junk iron that had had AFT fluid dripped 
> on it were shiny bright where the fluid had dripped.
> .
> See our article on eiching in the archives of the METEORITE TIMES. 
> http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2002/November/meteorites_101.htm
> (c) 2001 Ronald N Hartman / James C. Hartman
>
> Ron Hartman
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Mulgrew" <mikestang at gmail.com>
> To: "Shawn Alan" <photophlow at yahoo.com>
> Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2011 5:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Iron slice etching questions
>
>
>> Hi, Shawn.
>>
>> I use CLR on a Q-tip to remove rust, and rinse off the CLR with
>> isopropyl alcohol.
>>
>> Rather than hassle with nitric acid solutions I use computer board
>> etchant that you can purchase at any Radio Shack
>> (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102868).  Dab
>> it on with a foam brush and rinse with warm water, followed by an iso
>> alcohol rinse and a couple hours in the oven to dry.  After it's dry I
>> apply a light coat of automatic transmission fluid.  I don't use
>> lacquer because if I don't want to seal anything in by accident, and I
>> prefer to be able to quickly re-clean if needed.
>>
>> Here's a small Campo slice I recently rehab'd, it came out great!
>> http://api.ning.com/files/TTNq51g3PmEprv8cGklQmHxEnDH*40GU9qqeWlLVr3cNNcgRVd*HYBhyOcU19upJ1sNWmzTcdWSxWfxxyek*qZu-H3pLDerR/camporehab.jpg
>>
>> Best,
>> Michael in so. Cal.
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 3:40 PM, Shawn Alan <photophlow at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Listers
>>>
>>> For all of you that collect irons I have a couple questions. The first 
>>> one is I know some people seal their iron slices with a clear coat 
>>> lacker, now is this safe to do if done right, and if so, what is the 
>>> producted used. If someone wants to take it off the clear coat what can 
>>> be used? Could acetone be a good agent to take off the coating?
>>>
>>> Second question what do people use to etch an iron. I have seen some 
>>> videos but nothing talks about the acid used or the strength or I must 
>>> have missed something. Also if there is some lite rust on the slice, 
>>> whats a good agent to clean off the slice before etching. Why I aske is 
>>> because I have an iron that is etched on one side and on the other side 
>>> its kinda etched with some cool looking saw marks but could be etched 
>>> more. I would like to have both side etched nicely and see what peoples 
>>> thoughts are.
>>>
>>> Shawn Alan
>>> IMCA 1633
>>> eBaystore
>>> http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html
>>>
>>>
>>>
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