Will acid "fix" damaged calcite crystals?

I wondered if damaged calcite crystal clusters could be improved with muriatic acid. This is just an experiment to see if 4 rocks can be salvaged.
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[@sandmaker]

That was a clever idea. Use the acid to resurface the crystal faces. I think it worked. Your mind is always working. Be happy, safe and stay healthy!😷⚒

[@highenergyog]

Absolutely without a doubt there was an improvement in the damaged Calcite and now I know what to do to improve the damaged Calcite crystals in my collection . Thank you Greig .

[@bobpaup4222]

They look awesome cleaned up!! Thank you for the video!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday season.

[@meMiner]

Happy holidays!

[@azarahwagner2749]

Nice job 👍 I once acid etched some ore samples that had what I thought might be calcite and forgot them overnight in acid. It dissolved a lot of it but left behind an amazing matrix of almost clear quartz inside. It was so delicate and broke easy but was still a fine specimen 😉

[@meMiner]

I have done the same with silver and sometimes the results were quite fragile too

[@StarScapesOG]

Such a touchy process! Leave those in for just slightly too long and it ends up doing more damage than good... Wonderful job though!

[@meMiner]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@ccccarriemchardy9216]

It softened the shape of the crystal but I still like it. It is better than a damaged crystal.

[@meMiner]

I wouldn't do it to good crystals and would probably drip diluted muriatic in a more controlled manner on the chipped areas next time.

[@ccccarriemchardy9216]

@@meMiner I agree, some people also use it to dip seashells in, to bring out their natural colors. I think it just takes trial, error and practice to know what works.

[@meMiner]

@@ccccarriemchardy9216 Yes and every rock or shell will be different. A learning curve for sure

[@wiseman171]

This was a neat idea man! I think it improved them for sure

[@ferdburphel2076]

"You possess a unique set of skills learned over a lifetime".....please keep sharing🤝😄

[@meMiner]

I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare ... lol

[@ferdburphel2076]

@@meMiner flash back lol😄

[@gracewashburn8276]

Wow it did make a big difference on a few of the stones very nice

[@meMiner]

I thought it was an interesting experiment.

[@wyomingadventures]

Wow, I think it really did make them pop more! 💎👍

[@milesnn]

Fantastic video yup cleaned them up real nice yes I think you did and the acid sure did the trick awesome, a reminder to some people you shouldn’t pour water into acid outcome not good thank you my friend

[@meMiner]

Yes, acid into water and not the reverse, because risk of splash

[@Archangel4Truth]

Thats a great tip my friend, definitely worth while. 👍👍

[@johnsaucerhunter]

I think it softens the damage, I've never tried it before but think I might.

[@shvonnemarie]

I’m going to have to give this a try!! One of my favourite pieces I found at the bottom of a cliff and it’s pretty scuffed up- I have it in my garden right now but if I could pretty it up a bit that would be amazing !!

[@Cliffwalkerrockhounding]

Yup, looks great. I love that lump of one... second of the four.

[@GREEKEXPLORERS]

Amazing video, thank you for sharing!!

[@wallflowerjr]

Merry Christmas my friend and a happy new year to you and your family...

[@meMiner]

Same to you! Merry Christmas

[@DigginWithDeej]

Interesting video. Improvement, yes I think so.

[@wayne1959]

well i never. great outcome mate

[@jimlancaster6120]

I think they look great.

[@jassicaladd7298]

Would love to have you come for a visit to Maine for an adventure. I've learned so much from you this past year. :)

[@meMiner]

I'd love to cross the border, but won't until things normalize.

[@jassicaladd7298]

Well when things settle if ever you're very welcome, we would gladly host. We've found some fun things this season, so much more to learn and find. All kinds of fun places to explore. :)

[@meMiner]

@@jassicaladd7298 I'd love to. I have been within 100 yards of the border on the Quebec side to gold pan, but have never been into Maine. Lots of times into bordering states, so Maine is on my bucket list

[@RagnarRocks]

Gets the job done!

[@jeremycanterohioprospecting]

Nice looking job in definitely 👍👍✌️

[@meMiner]

Right on

[@barbaralwisdom]

Looks good

[@paigelee6321]

Awesome worked great 😊

[@JhonDiamond2021]

amazing rock sir. you are be great

[@Ken_G.]

I have to say, when I saw the words "acid", "fix" and "calcite" in the same sentence I didn't think the results were going to be good at all. I still wouldn't call them fixed per se, more that the damage was removed leaving behind stuff that hadn't been all whacked up behind. That was very cool to see, I wouldn't have considered doing that with something I wanted to keep, and I would have been mistaken. A day you don't learn something is a wasted day. I am assuming that you soaked them in water and baking soda or something along that line after you removed them from the acid bath?

[@meMiner]

If the chips in the crystals didn't resolve, they were destined for the garden or a chew toy for my rockhounding puppy. I think this was better, but am interested in other opinions. At the end of the day, it was an experiment to see what might happen in a short bath

[@Ken_G.]

@@meMiner Absolutely, nothing wrong with experiments at all. Do you watch Rookie Rockhound out of Australia? He tried to see if heating up a thunder egg would crack the rhyolite away from the chalcedony. Put like 5 of them in a charcoal chimney (those ones for a bbq). Didn't work at all, but it sure was interesting. They were red hot and he dropped them straight into a cooler filled with ice water. I suggested that maybe he try it with liquid nitrogen instead of fire to see what happens then.

[@meMiner]

@@Ken_G. I didn't see that video but will look for it.

[@death2putin718]

As a former lifeguard/pool maintenance, I indirectly splashed it in my eyes once when pouring it into the pool. Stung like hell for several minutes but no damage done.

[@meMiner]

Glad it didn't cause permanent damage for you. Good thing you had a pool of water to rinse off immediately. I have read accounts of blindness resulting.

[@jerrystott7780]

It seems like the same principle as when you put a dull file in acid to etch sharpen it. Have a great day.

[@thedesertartist]

goes to show that too much of anything will either kill it or spark it up! went to the mine yesterday, found some blue agate material!, going back out today, will do a live stream probably tomorrow of what i got,.. i should probably clean it, otherwise it just looks like brownish dirty rock,.. i sent pics to a friend he was amazed,.. hey thanks for checking out my channel!🙃

[@meMiner]

I was subscribed and just re-subed. I like your channel

[@thedesertartist]

@@meMiner thanks bro, i was telling your commenteers to check out my channel,.. the only free advertising is with comment sLOL

[@downyourtube]

I just wanted to wish You a Merry Christmas. Hope you're doing well.

[@meMiner]

Same to you!

[@gcegubbels4734]

So nice

[@silverback5033]

It looks like it has improved them, though you would be able to tell a bit more accurately then we can on video. Keep Safe & Keep Rockin

[@meMiner]

Well, they are inside on a shelf rather than in the garden ;-)

[@silverback5033]

Sounds like you ended up with a good result. Merry Christmas & Happy New year to you and the family.

[@yoopermann7942]

i never tried to fix/repair crystals with acid, it sure cleans them up though, just dont leave in the acid to long or you might have a bunch of debris in the bottom of your dish

[@liveyourdreammedia]

They look much better

[@nilzareckel1298]

Olá Amigo, muito bonita vás druzas,ficou bem limpas, também gosto de minerais , faço prospecção e faço cabochoes , artesanal , não tenho condições financeiras de comprar um tambor para polir como você faz, gostaria muito de conseguir um doado,pode ser usado , admiro seu trabalho, grande abraço, Feliz Natal para toda família 🤗

[@meMiner]

Hope you get what you want. Merry Christmas from Canada

[@IveGotStones]

I use CLR, it removes scratches and makes my calcite lustrous 👍

[@meMiner]

CLR works for sure and so does vinegar, but diluted muriatic is less expensive and generally faster.

[@IveGotStones]

@@meMiner the acid works well, I just hate that stuff lol, I made an oopsy back in the day when I was a newbie and added water to acid, thank God I was super quick in my younger days and avoided a disaster 😂

[@meMiner]

@@IveGotStones White vinegar would be a good option. Takes longer, but seems to work on similar minerals

[@gregderksen1996]

just curious, have you tried using mineral oil? saw a vid where they put mineral oil on the damaged (white) tips and put it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. they came out pretty clear afterwards. and no stinky fumes lol!

[@IveGotStones]

If you want a safer chemical with actually better results, use CLR, I use it all the time in my fire agate chalcedony Specimems that have drusy quartz and calcite, by the time I get them home and out of my backpack, the calcite crystals have knicks in them everywhere, I do half warm water with equal amount of CLR, it usually takes anywhere from 20 minutes to a hour or two, depending on how much damage or when I like the way they look.

[@meMiner]

That would be interesting to try. Generally, I don't like adding anything artificial to crystals. I didn't know about heating it, so thanks for that

[@IveGotStones]

@@meMiner I actually use hot water, by the time you add the CLR it's just warm, I don't do it inside either, I'm sure you could but I don't, I don't care for the smell on the stones after they've been in CLR so I soak them in fresh water for a couple of days, changing the water daily, I only ever use CLR when I'm trying to save calcite crystals, I mostly use iron out, powder version, that's the best stuff for cleaning quartz IMO. Love your videos by the way!

[@meMiner]

@@IveGotStones If you have the luxury of time, white table vinegar is cheaper and still works to etch minerals. I use SIO to remove iron stain and hematite from quartz

[@unenslaver1333]

Can you work high grade silver ore into pure? THAT, I would like to see!

[@meMiner]

I know someone who has done it. I have had some silver ore melted but not refined. If it ever gets done, for sure I will make a video. I especially like the look of silver beads from refined silver

[@SmallWonda]

He-he! Some years ago, when I was obviously still a bit naïve - I used muriatic acid to clean some moulded stone fireplace bricks which were very ugly & fire damaged - oh boy! It did the job, but not recommended!! I guess it would dissolve the calcite eventually?

[@meMiner]

Given time and active acid, it will eat away all the calcite.

[@ProspectorTripp]

Looks better to me after Stripping away a few years! I need a solution to strip away a few years from my aging butt? 😂 Looks okay to me! Thanks me! ✌️PT

[@meMiner]

I'd love to strip away some of my age too. LOL

[@mikedavis3826]

I have done it with 100's of pieces,what kind of gun do you use(mine is 5000PSI)

[@meMiner]

Mine is an Arrow CM-170

[@tott3457]

??? Are you suppose to neutralize the acid with Water/Baking Soda after the acid bath? 🤔

[@meMiner]

It's a good idea.

[@denisejackson5039]

Is the grey host rock dolostone? Limestone? Or more calcite?

[@meMiner]

In this area, the host is limestone or armour stone.

[@denisejackson5039]

@@meMiner armour stone? Well you have given me something to google sir.

[@denisejackson5039]

@@meMiner it’s this type of rock that lines that railway track on the escarpment in. Hamilton

[@debbiemeyer6396]

Before and after side-by-side pictures would have helped.

[@meMiner]

I thought the same thing afterwards. Next time

[@debbiemeyer6396]

Great minds.....lol!

[@oldbamadirt2148]

a littel dab will do it.

[@manatworkhoyeahlovegodmade6373]

Mega

[@mikedavis3826]

Don't use acid,use a high-pressure water gun,hit the damaged spots,then brush on some mineral oil

[@meMiner]

I tried that with a fabric gun. It cleaned out the dirt, but didn't fix the chips in these crystals

[@DudesIn101]

Super glue will,that shit will fix anything

[@Smithsgold]

👍👍👍👍

[@jalpa9642]

It worked good....I guess....? no comprehend the process. me not Rock Hound....=)

[@meMiner]

The worst thing here was the most damaged rock was chewed by the puppy. It started off perfect. I was heartbroken that it got so damaged and was thinking to just toss into the garden. Now it is back on the shelf, above Shelby's reach...

[@jalpa9642]

@@meMiner Sorry about the puppy chewing on it.... I'm sure there's more where you found that piece.....? =(

[@glendadalejones3753]

Most worked? 🙌🎄🎄🎄

[@darkwood777]

I don't care for this approach. Why put the entire rock in acid when only a few points are damaged? You can't reverse that kind of damage. Spot etching would work better. But that's just my opinion.

[@meMiner]

I agree and would do that next time