Need Tips

[bdevey]

I need some tips on removing iron oxide from a specimen. I can use acid on it if needed but Its not a surface I can scrub. Thanks a bunch

[Auspex]

Oxalic acid may be suitable; some of the iron-stain removers for the kitchen sink ("Zud" is a brand here) have a reasonably safe concentration.

[tracer]

I need some tips on removing iron oxide from a specimen. I can use acid on it if needed but Its not a surface I can scrub. Thanks a bunch

um, oxalic acid is very scary. precipitates the calcium right out of you. and i know nothing about using thioglycollic acid for such things so i'm not even going to mention it. i leave all the stains on all my fossils. believe it gives them character and authenticity. i'm not that pretty myself but i've done ok over the years. would have hated somebody to bathe me in acid. um, is it friday yet?

(p.s. - auspex, can you just post a generic pinned topic about me so people won't be taken afront when i come wandering in out of left field like i am wont to do at semi-irregular intervals?)

[Ludwigia]

Like Tracer said in his own way, don't use oxalic acid if your fossil is calcified or in Limestone. It'll just fizzle away along with the iron oxide. There are other chemicals which can be used which aren't so aggressive, but it's all rather complicated and since I'm no chemist I don't want to recommend you go playing around with any sorcerer's apprentice's recipes.

[Blastoid]

Iron Out, available from WalMart, is great for removing iron stains. Easier to get than oxalic, and both are relatively harmless, though you still need to protect your hands, lungs, and eyes when using. Iron Out won't harm carbonates, but it's always best to test on a scrap piece before you dunk a prize specimen in any chemical.

B