Sonja 3 Posted August 24 Hi, I'm new to this. Ok thought this guy had no hope when I found it, barely recognized it. I've been trying to clean it up by hand using soft to medium bristle brushes and have made some progress. I know it's pretty high as far as hardness goes, but it just looks so damaged. Is there hope for it? Am I going about this incorrectly? I appreciate any advice. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stillweaver hillbelli 72 Posted August 24 Need some help with scale, any clues like a quarter in future pics would help. Is th j.g at a 5 gallon pail in the pic or? From what I can gather, it looks l I'l ke first class yard rock for a border or wall. Where did you find it,? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,760 Posted August 24 That is an agate. And it looks pretty clean. The stuff on the outside is cortex. You are not going to wash it off. It will need to be abraded or tumbled off. Agates are impervious to most strong acids. The stuff you are trying to get off is insoluble. So a saw, a grinder or a tumbler is about your only option. If you are careful you can also knock it off with a copper billet. That will reveal some of the interior but will leave you with some shattered spots unless you really know what you are doing. A wet tile saw works O.K. for cutting that stuff. If you want to get a good look at the inside that is what I would do. Otherwise you could tumble it in 60-90 grit slurry and grind most it off. It will take a month or so in the tumbler and the stone will be much smaller. But it can be done. You will never get all the pits and pockets out of it though. Muriatic Acid (10% HCl) will get rid of anything left that you can get rid of. Do it outside and down wind form any living thing, It will liberate some chlorine gas and that is wicked nasty stuff. Make sure you use an HDPE plastic container or a glass jar or you might wind up with a toxic waste spill. If you soak it in hot muriatic acid it might get rid of some of the calcium and soluble crud. But it looks like it is mostly silica cortex left and that is there for good. I don't think acid will help it much. Hope that helps. It looks like a fairly nice agate. Under the cortex it will be solid. You will like the interior. It looks like it will have lavender and blue hues and those make nice agates. My advice is to cut it in half and polish the cut face. Leave the rest on the outside. You can do that fairly quickly with a cheap saw and some polishing grit. 1 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonja 3 Posted September 1 (edited) Bedrock Bob: Thank you so much! You are very kind and an immense help. I figured I wasn't going to accomplish this without the proper tools ;` ). Live and learn. I've read a number of your posts, your advice is always so thorough and informative. Your knowledge base is impressive to say the least.(Just in case no one's told you lately) I truly appreciate your time and I'm grateful for the suggestion! Edited September 1 by Sonja Added name of person I am replying to. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,760 Posted September 2 Thank you so much Sonja! I appreciate the good words. I am thrilled that I could help! Bedrock Bob 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonja 3 Posted September 4 On 8/24/2019 at 3:02 PM, Stillweaver hillbelli said: Need some help with scale, any clues like a quarter in future pics would help. Is th j.g at a 5 gallon pail in the pic or? From what I can gather, it looks l I'l ke first class yard rock for a border or wall. Where did you find it,? Funny haha cuz i know it's a real pretty agate, not a yard or border rock!! Kind of fractious but it is in quite the rough shape. I guess I would too after millions of years.. TBH I did find it in the yard. Thanks, I'll include an item for scale if I post pics in the future. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,760 Posted September 5 Just now, Sonja said: Funny haha cuz i know it's a real pretty agate, not a yard or border rock!! Kind of fractious but it is in quite the rough shape. I guess I would too after millions of years.. TBH I did find it in the yard. Thanks, I'll include an item for scale if I post pics in the future. Don't pay any attention to Swellbelly Hillwilliam. He has a patch over his bad eye and unless he has something for reference he has no idea if he is looking at the Grand Canyon or a crack in the sidewalk. He is a good guy once you get past the flinty exterior. Much like your specimen. Your rock will polish up though. His exterior cortex is just going to get worse with time. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stillweaver hillbelli 72 Posted September 5 7 minutes ago, Bedrock Bob said: Don't pay any attention to Swellbelly Hillwilliam. He has a patch over his bad eye And only a phone to peruse pics.not much detail... The patch itches but mostly when reading granitoid Roberto 's enlightening verbose verbiage. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,760 Posted September 5 27 minutes ago, Stillweaver hillbelli said: And only a phone to peruse pics.not much detail... The patch itches but mostly when reading granitoid Roberto 's enlightening verbose verbiage. That is "Sir Robert of the Rocks" to you, you ol' crank. And the patch would not itch so bad if you would take some soap to that old dead eye socket you are hiding. Jeebus man! Splash some water on yourself once in a while. You are scaring the children! 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Furness 1,333 Posted September 5 Easy Boys ... I know it is all in fun right now .... BUT .... ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 2,760 Posted September 5 5 hours ago, Mike Furness said: Easy Boys ... I know it is all in fun right now .... BUT .... ! Don't worry Mike. I'll quit. Just havin' some fun and I got carried away. Sorry Stillwillie Hillbeaver. I apologize for taking it a little to far and having fun at your expense. I can't promise you it won't happen again but I can promise you it was just meant in fun. I think you are a hoot even though I don't always (usually never) agree with you. You have my respect and that is why I like to mess with you. So please accept my sincere apology and feel free to give me all the crap you want. I don't mind at all. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sonja 3 Posted September 9 On 9/5/2019 at 5:27 PM, Bedrock Bob said: Don't worry Mike. I'll quit. Just havin' some fun and I got carried away. Sorry Stillwillie Hillbeaver. I apologize for taking it a little to far and having fun at your expense. I can't promise you it won't happen again but I can promise you it was just meant in fun. I think you are a hoot even though I don't always (usually never) agree with you. You have my respect and that is why I like to mess with you. So please accept my sincere apology and feel free to give me all the crap you want. I don't mind at all. You are a good soul to take the high road. I thought that little rangle was hilarious... And I'm quite flattered that you two felt free to duel over my silly post about a shoulda woulda coulda bedraggled rock. Sigh... Have a lovely day Sonja 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMc 657 Posted September 9 35 minutes ago, Sonja said: You are a good soul to take the high road. I thought that little rangle was hilarious... And I'm quite flattered that you two felt free to duel over my silly post about a shoulda woulda coulda bedraggled rock. Sigh... Have a lovely day Sonja Sonja, It's not the rock. It's the nature of the beast . . . 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stillweaver hillbelli 72 Posted September 9 9 hours ago, Sonja said: You are a good soul to take the high road. I thought that little rangle was hilarious... And I'm quite flattered that you two felt free to duel over my silly post about a shoulda woulda coulda bedraggled rock. Sigh... Have a lovely day Sonja No duel, just normal banter between friends. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
