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Techniques for CollectorsMineral Tack Residue on Topaz

29th Jun 2014 20:26 UTCMatthew Kimball

Hello all!

Last weekend, I was up in New Hampshire and bought a small topaz crystal from South Percy Peak, Stratford, NH, at one of the local rock shops. The crystal is mounted in a perky box with some old, off-yellowish mineral tack. I want to remove the stuff, as the crystal is transparent and the tack can be seen through the crystal. I was able to carefully scrape most of it off, but there is still some of it left behind. The stuff seems to be unusually thick and sticky. Can anyone recommend a safe way to remove it? Rolling a piece of tack over it didn't help at all.

Thanks in advance!

29th Jun 2014 22:42 UTCDoug Daniels

You could try any of the common "organic" solvents, such as alcohol, acetone, hexane (rubber cement thinner), paint thinner, maybe even mineral oil. When you find one that seems to work, a small paint brush or old toothbrush may help in removing the stuff. None of these will hurt the topaz at all.

30th Jun 2014 00:31 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

I've been told even peanut oil works (but haven't tried it myself).

30th Jun 2014 00:57 UTCReiner Mielke Expert

Mineral oil works on my tack as well as silicon oil but if it is old and hard it may take a while to get it off.

30th Jun 2014 00:58 UTCDoug Daniels

Likely depends on the brand of "mineral tack"? Sounds like an interesting investigation for someone with the time and the means - gather all the types of mineral tack, and see what will remove it (preferably the least toxic). Or has someone already done this?

30th Jun 2014 01:45 UTCJohn A. Jaszczak Expert

For sticky label residues and for some "mineral tac" residues I have used, upon recommendation of

a mineral dealer I trust, Wieman Wax Away. It has a pleasant but short lived smell and doesn't leave

much of its own residue.

30th Jun 2014 02:43 UTCMatthew Kimball

Thank you all for the quick replies!

Since I already have them in the house and there is no danger of them damaging the specimen, I'll try paint thinner or denatured alcohol first. Probably kind of a dumb question, but how do I get rid of the solvent when I'm done using it on the specimen? Is it fine to just let it evaporate?

30th Jun 2014 05:18 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert

Don't use a solvent then just let it evaporate, because anything that dissolves in the solvent will be redeposited upon evaporation.

I've had good luck with two different things.

Soak in Goo Be Gone (for an hour or more) or rubbing alcohol (use the highest concentration available; usually 91%), then rinse liberally while blotting in rubbing alcohol. Repeat as needed.

30th Jun 2014 13:15 UTCMatthew Kimball

Thanks Steve!

I'll try the rubbing alcohol first, as I already have a bottle of that in the house too. There is only a thin coating of tack and the stuff has not hardened, so it shouldn't be too hard to remove.

30th Jun 2014 17:06 UTCMatthew Kimball

It worked!

After soaking the crystal in a cup of rubbing alcohol for a couple of hours, I was able to carefully and rather easily remove the tack with the aid of a toothpick and a toothbrush. Thanks again Steve (as well as everyone else) for your help.

-Matthew

30th Jun 2014 20:37 UTCNik Nikiforou

The best product I've found for this (thanks to Jasun McAvoy) is Weiman's WaxAway. It is intended to clean up wax residue and can be found in candle making sections in craft stores such as MIchael's. Soak the specimen in it for a couple of hours and the old tack will completely dissolve.

Nik

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