Sklybones 2 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Collected some samples 4 weeks ago I was told it was turquiose but needs to be hardend..I know most is sent over seas for this But I was wondering if a small amount could be done at a fairly cheap price if I do it myself..heres a picture of what I have and the outcrop.. The last 2 pics are from another area I found this last weekend its turquiose but hoping the vein gets wider the further down I go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El Dorado 965 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 OOPS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sklybones 2 Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 Thanx El Dorado I was just wanting it for myself to polish and make the grandkids some jewelry..As the rock is now it fractures to easy to work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Sklybones-About 95 % of the turquoise mined these days needs to be stabilized and It's easier to have someone else do this for you. Will cost about $25.00 per pound and is done here in the states- not overseas. That looks like some good rough with potential. After the stabllization process is finished, the color tends to be a little darker.Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El Dorado 965 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Or if you care to try it yourself, Google: Opticon Epoxy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weaver hillbille 488 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I know nothing of this process.Butt If I were tasked to do this, the first thing I would try is coating/soaking the piece in superglue, followed by a wipe down in acetone.THe basic watery , original formula, that's best bought in packs of a dozen or so small tubes. SHould soak into every crack and harden like a mutha. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Au Seeker 3,190 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 There some info on stabilizing near the bottom of this link.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise Quote Link to post Share on other sites
homefire 2,581 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Turquoise needs no treatment.If it's crumbly, it's not Turquoise. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
grubstake 679 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Just soak it overnite in Viagra, that should make it hard! Ha! Ha! and the pill is the same color! Grubstake Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rodd in B.C. 13 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 GrubstakeI gotta say you must be feeling somewhat better !!?? must be just about time to fire up the ol 5Kand go find the big one.Rodd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
grubstake 679 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 No, just feeling onery, I've been having lots of medical problems, mostly my heart, joking around is one way to stay sane. Grubstake Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Johnno 64 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Just soak it overnite in Viagra, that should make it hard! Ha! Ha! and the pill is the same color! Grubstake Hope you're feeling better Grubby Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Turquoise needs no treatment.If it's crumbly, it's not Turquoise.Most turquoise doesn't crumble. It's just soft like chalk. That's where the stablization process comes in. A guy by the name of Hardy came up with a formula and a process back in the 60's or 70's (I think) that became the standard. It involves epoxy, a thinner, heat and pressure. The last two are not critical but it creates a better product..Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 4,184 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 What I have heard is that there is nodular turquoise and vein turqoise. Vein turquoise is softer and sometimes will fall apart if not stabilized. Then there is nodular which is often very hard and stable. You can get hard or soft material in either formation but the nodules are where the deep color and good material is found.Orogrande has beutiful specimens of both. And there are plenty of places where the turquoise is laced with silver sulphides and little stringers of gold. Most of that turquoise is hard and workable right out of the ground. Cerillos has had tons of the stuff mined since the ancient days and is probably the most famous turquoise deposit on the planet. There are veins there that are pale and nearly white. If you soak the rocks in urine they turn bright blue. The pieces I have seen are hard but they say there are truckloads of softer material that they send off to stabilize and dye all different shades and colors.The natives carried a piece of the "blue stone" from Cerillos for good luck. They worked it down and smoothed it so it made a pleasing piece to rub in your hand. I have found several of these little turquoise good luck stones over the years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El Dorado 965 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Steve, it's actually heat and vacuum. Opticon is an epoxy that is commonly used to stabilize material and as a crack filler. The heat helps thin the opticon and the vacuum pulls out air in the material while drawing in the Opticon. Really a pretty simple process..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Steve-Usually they add a thinner of some type to the epoxy to help permeate the softer turquiose for better results. Some of these formulas are pretty secret. I agree the process itself may be simply but it can be hazardous at times. Those pots have been known to blow up and create an absolute mess...Bob-I really don't think there's any pattern with regards to nuggets, vein, colors,hardness, etc. I've been to Royston and have seen all kinds of variations within a really small area. Same thing at Kingman. Just seems to defy any explanation although I'm sure there is.Have heard of gold and silver stringers running through turquoise. What I sight that must be. I can recall someone found some gold in turquoise not all that long ago- within the past five years or so. Can't seem to remember which district it came from though. Maybe it was the Oro Grande..I had some Cerillos rough but lost it all somehow. Really unusual looking turquoise. Liked the pale greenish blue colors. Unfortunately, rough is very hard, if not impossible to find. I don;t believe I have ever seen any on ebay and the miners don't sell the rough. Thanks for the urine tidbit. I just may try that sometime on some porous rough. :hahaha:Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
azdave35 10 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 r.t research in tempe az will treat turquoise for you..he was charging 12 bucks a pound.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Goldfinger 43 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 That's a great price considering you can buy it already stabilized for $20.00 a pound.. Not very good quality though..Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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