---Oil of wintergreen --- can't get rid of it,

    I have one for you, slightly off topic, maybe.  I tried
some synthetic methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) from off
the bench, where I use it on the burrs, to immerse a piece of
facet  rough to look for flaws.  Worked great on quartz, stone
disappeared!  But I left the stone in a plastic graduated
beaker> overnight with the dregs.

G’day Jess: here at your call!

Not sure why you use methyl salicylate for burrs - I would have
thought any light oil would do, perhaps 3-in-one diluted with
turps? I personally use water and a detergent, (cheaper!) but
each to his own, eh? Admittedly, it does have a similar
refractive index to quartz for diagnosis and checking purposes.
Now methyl salicylate is not a mixture of anything, but a solvent
like acetone. Where did your dregs/gunk come from? It is a very
good solvent for a wide range of organic compounds including
polystyrene. It will also go for Perspex (Lucite) too.

If you need a container for solvents, be sure to pick glass or
one of the ‘waxy’ sort of plastics, like polyethylene, or
polypropylene (sold as Nalgene) Nothing - not even concentrated
acids - will touch those. Methyl salicylate is also very
volatile, so use a container with some sort of closure. Very
similar in effect - and use - to eucalyptus oil Have you tried
using turps - mineral, or vegetable turps as I prefer which is
sometimes still available - to clean up? It wont simply dissolve
the mess without a little assistance, in the same way as merely
spraying soap over your body and showering it off won’t clean
you: you have to rub it with a cloth, brush, loofah, or in
occasional cases, (Kids often need this treatment) a scraper and
blowtorch :smiley:

Well, there’s a few ideas - hope something here helps. Give me a
shout, No?

    /\
   / /    John Burgess, 
  / /
 / //\    @John_Burgess2
/ / \ \

/ ()
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______)

John:

Thanks for the reply on the oil of wintergreen. The beaker was
a clear plastic one, and so, probably a type of lucite or
similar, so I guess what happened was that part of the beaker
dissolved. I didn’t know an “oil” could be such a solvent. I
gather it isn’t toxic in small doses — it’s used in flavoring,
right, and preparations for aches and pains, right? I guess I
will stick to the cinnamon oil for immersion in the future. I
wonder if there is an advantage (higher RI) to the oil of
wintergreen? I do keep it in a brown glass bottle. Thanks also
for the tip on the “waxy” plastics being inert — I guess you
are talking about plastics which are white or yellow and
translucent rather than clear. I’ve seen acid in such bottles.

By the way, finally got to the Orchid website the other day and
saw your jade piece — really lovely — how did you carve it
— tools, etc.?

Hope the knee continues to get better.

Roy

I seem to always hit the cap key… I can sure do without the
mess you told about… But what is this about a web site with a
carved jade… I love carving and am interested also in tools used
and also seeing the jewel… Please… the web site and thanks
again for the warning about the wintergreen

CALGANG

Ps you might get two scrambled messages as I hit the wrong keys
trying to find my mouse… this is a laptop and no matter what i
do I lose the mouse and even with the finger movements it
dissappears and no one seems to know what to do… Any ideas would
be appreciated…

I love wintergreen oil and puzzeled as to problems could you
explain.Ron

The jade piece is John Burgess’s and is pictured on the ganoksin
website, that is the Orchid gallery which is referenced in the
footers to our messages. Look b

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