drujd Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I've been given several pieces of petrified wood and was after some advice on using bleach. How long should I leave them to soak? Can the light saw marks be removed by hand / dremel, or would I need something more serious? And before or after the bleach? Thanks in advance, Daniel You know you're doing something right when your child asks, "When did Santa evolve?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I would use progressively finer silicone carbide "wet-or-dry" paper, on a flat surface, wet, to work out the saw marks (rub the specimen on the paper). Do this first, as we do not know how deeply (if at all) the bleach will alter the stone, and you wouldn't want to have to do it all over again. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 (edited) interesting, I have bleached a lot of wood, but never pet wood. With wood, it gets neutralized after the bleach, typically with white vinegar, which may not be good for pet wood Edited June 26, 2013 by xonenine "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drujd Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 I would use progressively finer silicone carbide "wet-or-dry" paper, on a flat surface, wet, to work out the saw marks (rub the specimen on the paper). Do this first, as we do not know how deeply (if at all) the bleach will alter the stone, and you wouldn't want to have to do it all over again. Thanks, I'll give that a go this weekend. interesting, I have bleached a lot of wood, but never pet wood. With wood, it gets neutralized after the bleach, typically with white vinegar, which may not be good for pet wood Please excuse my ignorance, but why would the vinegar be problematic for petrified wood? Does it depend on what the new minerals are? You know you're doing something right when your child asks, "When did Santa evolve?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I have checked some fossil wood sites and it seems a lot of folks use vinegar, just didn't want to recommend a technique I have never tried "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 What would soaking petrified wood in vinegar do? Thanks A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painshill Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 (edited) The result you get from bleaching is gonna depend on the nature of the mineral replacement for the wood. It will work well if there has been any carbonization or opalisation and less well (if at all) on highly silicified material. It the starting material is black or very dark in colour, it should bring up the grain but you’ll probably need to leave it soaking for about a month (in a non-metal container) and top up with fresh beach every few days. This works less well (if at all) with coloured pieces, but the stuff you’re showing look like it would benefit. There won’t be much penetration into most woods, so it would be a good idea to roughly sand the surface you want to display (whether it has saw marks or not) before you soak to improve the penetration. Lighter polishing after you have bleached should still leave the enhancement, but if you polish more heavily you will largely end up back where you started. If you try bleaching a highly polished surface you might get some effect but it won’t penetrate very far. That may not matter if you just want a display piece – as opposed to wanting to make it into jewellery for example. I don’t see why vinegar would do any harm to petrified wood unless it’s calcited. I don’t see why it would do any good either... apart from cleaning up any calcium-based mineral deposits from a silicified specimen. But sanding will do that anyway on a flat surface. Edited June 28, 2013 by painshill 1 Roger I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who [Rudyard Kipling] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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