I know this subject has been covered numerous times on this forum;
however, I have not seen this material mentioned before. Last year
while on a buying trip, I was fortunate enough to meet a son-in-law
of the King family who owns the Kings Manassa Turquoise mine in
Manassa, Colorado. He was kind and gracious even showing me his
turquoise cutting operation, which is to say the least quite large.
One of the things I noticed, was the backing material on his
turquoise cabochons. It was a light brown. I failed to ask him what
he used. This year, on a similar buying trip, I found myself in
Thunderbird Supply in Gallup, New Mexico. While there, I ran across
turquoise cabochons with this same backing material, and asked if
anyone knew what it was and who cut these cabs. I was told that it
was my new acquaintance in Manassa, and that it was doping wax with
epoxy added. I know this is a long way around my question of, has
anyone on this forum used this, heard of it before, or know the
formula or composition? I have misplaced his address and phone
number, or I would ask him. Over the years, I have used everything
from Devcon Plastic Steel to old 78 rpm records and lots of others in
between, but find this intriguing. All replies appreciated.
John Barton