I think the crystal cluster that turned yellow was calcite. That's been my experience. Agates & other silicates look so good after the iron out treatment. It does a killer job on crystal pockets that are nearly impossible to get into.
@@wildheart253 if they are heavily coated with iron, I soak for a day & check. If they require more time, I put them back in. Sometimes in the case of Agates, Cherts, Jasper, it only takes an hour or two because they are not so porous. Limestone many times has iron mixed in it so I soak for a day in vinegar, which soaks in to break the lime bond. Then i rinse and soak in iron out to break iron bond. After that, if there is a fossil in the rock, you can extract material easier.
You’re welcome and thank you for the comment! Now that I kinda see what it can do (and won’t do) I’m working on smaller batches that need multiple baths
Lime-Away works twice as well for Agate, Jasper and wood. It's cheaper too. Basically just hydrochloric acid. I soak my finds for about 3 - 5 hours and they come out better than a whole day in iron out.
Thanks for the video! Gotta get me some iron-out, I have just been using vinegar and soap and water! I always just worry about a chemical reaction because I am still very much a rookie when it comes to identifying my rocks 😊
I hear you! I was doing the vinegar thing too and it was usually just so disappointing! Far as I know there are a handful of common minerals to avoid with this stuff. I read calcite a lot and I think zeolites generally but I’m not sure. It’s great on agates and jaspers and things! I hope you have success! Be safe! :D Oh also I originally had to get it at ace hardware. Couldn’t find at Home Depot or Lowe’s. It’s also like 5 dollars cheaper at Walmart. Near the paint section is where it’s found typically.
You can also use straight Lemon Juice. Its acidic enough to take lime, calcium,iron & calcite off your specimens. And it's cheap & non toxic. But iron out is still the best for any of the ferris metal residues like iron.
@@juliemckenna514 No problem Julie. Another trick I use is Muriatic acid. I usually fill up container with water high enough to cover rocks. Then add acid slowly & watch for the fizzing (Wear eye/skin protection). It doesn't take much. Let soak for an hour or less. Rinse well. Dilute what's in the bucket to neutralize before discarding.
I'm going to try Iron out for the first time. I watched another video that said you need to neutralize the iron out with baking soda to prevent that white film. Did you do that? Thanks!
I’ve been experimenting with Iron Out myself. It works good on most the stuff I found, but some stuff it doesn’t work-I’m guessing because no iron? Thanks for the video on this!
I think they were in for two days, 48 hours and I think that's too long. It seems to leave a white film over most of them. If I were to do it again I would probably just do a few hours, or whenever they appear to clean up, based on what i've read.
So I used Iron Out on some rocks and after 24 hours there was a shiny black stain on parts of some of the rocks... Has this happened to anyone before? What did I do wrong and can I get it off?
Hmm that's odd, i think i had that happen when I left them in for a long time but not just a day. Maybe it's the type of rocks you have where it isn't reacting well. That stinks, i'm sorry that happened!
I think the crystal cluster that turned yellow was calcite. That's been my experience.
Agates & other silicates look so good after the iron out treatment. It does a killer job on crystal pockets that are nearly impossible to get into.
Oh yeah?? Thank you! That could explain why a couple crystals fell out
How long do you soak the rocks?
@@wildheart253 if they are heavily coated with iron, I soak for a day & check. If they require more time, I put them back in.
Sometimes in the case of Agates, Cherts, Jasper, it only takes an hour or two because they are not so porous.
Limestone many times has iron mixed in it so I soak for a day in vinegar, which soaks in to break the lime bond. Then i rinse and soak in iron out to break iron bond. After that, if there is a fossil in the rock, you can extract material easier.
I loved this! Where are your finds from? That pet wood is stunning!!!
Oh so cool seeing video from a LOCAL Rockhound!!! I'm on the far West end of Lower Valley. 😁 I ve soaked my finds with CLR it worked.
Nice to see what the Iron Out will clean up and won’t, thanks for the video.
You’re welcome and thank you for the comment! Now that I kinda see what it can do (and won’t do) I’m working on smaller batches that need multiple baths
That was interesting to watch. Strange how it changed the color of your crystals. Did great on some. Good test. Thanks for sharing :)
Lime-Away works twice as well for Agate, Jasper and wood. It's cheaper too. Basically just hydrochloric acid. I soak my finds for about 3 - 5 hours and they come out better than a whole day in iron out.
Thank you! I’ll have to try that 😄
Thanks for this comment, will give a try if the iron out doesn't work
Thanks for the video! Gotta get me some iron-out, I have just been using vinegar and soap and water! I always just worry about a chemical reaction because I am still very much a rookie when it comes to identifying my rocks 😊
I hear you! I was doing the vinegar thing too and it was usually just so disappointing! Far as I know there are a handful of common minerals to avoid with this stuff. I read calcite a lot and I think zeolites generally but I’m not sure. It’s great on agates and jaspers and things! I hope you have success! Be safe! :D Oh also I originally had to get it at ace hardware. Couldn’t find at Home Depot or Lowe’s. It’s also like 5 dollars cheaper at Walmart. Near the paint section is where it’s found typically.
@@gunnarnizzler thank you Gunner for the tips. 😊
You can also use straight Lemon Juice. Its acidic enough to take lime, calcium,iron & calcite off your specimens. And it's cheap & non toxic. But iron out is still the best for any of the ferris metal residues like iron.
@@treasuresunderfoot7876 thanks Mike 😊
@@juliemckenna514 No problem Julie. Another trick I use is Muriatic acid. I usually fill up container with water high enough to cover rocks. Then add acid slowly & watch for the fizzing (Wear eye/skin protection). It doesn't take much.
Let soak for an hour or less. Rinse well. Dilute what's in the bucket to neutralize before discarding.
I'm going to try Iron out for the first time. I watched another video that said you need to neutralize the iron out with baking soda to prevent that white film. Did you do that? Thanks!
Thank you! I saw your comment a while back, helps a lot
I’ve been experimenting with Iron Out myself. It works good on most the stuff I found, but some stuff it doesn’t work-I’m guessing because no iron?
Thanks for the video on this!
That could be, no iron. There are lots of other things to use but I've only done iron out, bleach water, and vinegar water. Thanks for the comment!
@@gunnarnizzler I’m trying CLR tonight on some lower quality agates and quartz I had sitting around. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Iron Out does work on a lot of things, sometimes it really hard to tell what it will take off and what it won't.
So true man, it’s so much fun when it does work though!
How long were they in?
I think they were in for two days, 48 hours and I think that's too long. It seems to leave a white film over most of them. If I were to do it again I would probably just do a few hours, or whenever they appear to clean up, based on what i've read.
So I used Iron Out on some rocks and after 24 hours there was a shiny black stain on parts of some of the rocks... Has this happened to anyone before? What did I do wrong and can I get it off?
Hmm that's odd, i think i had that happen when I left them in for a long time but not just a day. Maybe it's the type of rocks you have where it isn't reacting well. That stinks, i'm sorry that happened!
@@gunnarnizzler Yeah they were quartz but I just used the dremel on the spots and they came off
@@PridewithKC oh that’s good, I have a Dremel too and I love it haha