A lot of ordinary field stones look great when they are freshly cut.
Does anyone know of a coating (analogous to varnish for wood) which
will coat stones and keep air from tarnishing the surface?
This is a joke question, right?
Most durable stone, when sawn or ground will not show any
deterioration from air for many, many years…longer than a
lifetime. Visit an old cemetery and take a look at granite and
diorite…no visible change.
The marbles and dolomites which are basically calcium or magnesium
carbonate are susceptible to change from acid rain, but probably not
in a lifetime.
Some of the basaltic rocks, even some VERY hard ones, do break down
(weather) rapidly when exposed to air, rain and big changes in
temperature, but it still takes many years for a visible change to
occur.
Wayne
A lot of ordinary field stones look great when they are freshly cut. Does anyone know of a coating (analogous to varnish for wood) which will coat stones and keep air from tarnishing the surface?
Probably a clear epoxy coating would work. I’m curious about what
kind of stones you have. If you can identify them, there may be more
specific recommendations.
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
Aldon Chemical Company has products that I used on my slate floors.
They have a fat number of things if you go to their web site. Some
are for porous stones and some for stone that is not so porous. Shiny
or not so shiny. For a rather inflated shipping charge yu can get 1oz
samples of any of them. www.aldonchem.com
Justine
A lot of ordinary field stones look great when they are freshly cut. Does anyone know of a coating (analogous to varnish for wood) which will coat stones and keep air from tarnishing the surface?
What kind of stone tarnishes??
Noel
Polish them with lapidary wheels and grits. Check with a local rock
club where you liveto learn how It’s much nicer to see a polished
rather than varnished stone and the shine won’t yellow or wear off.
Peter
Try Opticon. Or Epoxy (2 part).
Karen Bahr - Karen’s Artworx
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Polish them with lapidary wheels and grits. Check with a local rock
club where you liveto learn how It’s much nicer to see a polished
rather than varnished stone and the shine won’t yellow or wear off
Peter I think what you maybe talking about is called opticon whichb
is a type of glue sealer. It is used to seal water inside opals via
vacum pump , chalcedony, some gem silica chrysocolla
(quartz-chalcedony colored by copper minerals- chrysocolla), and
other stones. It is used to keep water inside the stone so that the
stone does not loose color and translucency due to water dehydration
problems In opal very low tempeture must be used. Hope this helps.
Lee Horowitz
Peru Blue Opal Ltd
A lot of ordinary field stones look great when they are freshly cut.
I’m happy to see this topic introduced, because I have a related
question. I’ve been wondering if there’s any reason NOT to cut a
stone this way: flat back, oval shape, but rough surface? On our
property, we have lots of very attractive white quartz, some with
black tourmaline crystals, some with smoky quartz. I think it would
look better “cabbed” if the surface were left rough instead of
polished. It sparkles like wild.
I’m registered for a lapidary course in December, and will be taking
a sample of this quartz along with me.
Thank you,
Lorraine
Krylon high gloss finish/sealer. Spray can available at any home
building store. i used it on a malachite filled slate 35 years ago,
the stone is still clear surface and shiny.
John
John Atwell Rasmussen
Rasmussen Gems and Jewelry
Web: www.rasmussengems.com
Blog: http://rasmussengems.ganoksin.com/blogs/
Most durable stone, when sawn or ground will not show any deterioration from air for many, many years....longer than a lifetime. Visit an old cemetery and take a look at granite and diorite...no visible change.
Not so with marble. Or sandstone, though that’s a different
mechanism.
I’m curious, too. There are minerals which will oxidize freshly
broken surfaces and change appearance fairly rapidly, but I wouldn’t
call them “ordinary field stones.”
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
Al,
If you put clear epoxy on stone, it looks like, well, epoxy on stone.
very bizarre. if you want a polished look, polish it. The term “field
stone” could mean just about anything, but anything that is likely to
be found in a field, if it’s been transported by a river or glacier,
is likely to be some form of granite, diorite, chert, agate ot
jasper, or maybe quartzite, perhaps basalt and relayed rocks. It’s
tough, hard and durable. if you saw it, the exposed surface will
likely not alter in a human lifetime.
Wayne
I have a 40 x 30 cab with a “natural” face that I made into a
pendant. I like it, but it has not sold. So, I guess that the answer
is that you can do this, but will the customers also think that it is
better looking?
John
John Atwell Rasmussen
Rasmussen Gems and Jewelry
Web: www.rasmussengems.com
Blog: http://rasmussengems.ganoksin.com/blogs/
It is used to seal water inside opals via vacuum pump, chalcedony, some gem silica chrysocolla (quartz-chalcedony colored by copper minerals- chrysocolla)
This is quite interesting…at the last Denver Gem and Mineral
Show we found just the described slabs of rock as listed above in a
tent at the Holiday Inn. They were heavily covered with “shellac” we
thought, and bought a few. We were planning to use them in inlay. To
remove the “shellac” I soaked them in Acetone and had a pan full of
heavy gravel as a result. I wasn’t buying a specimen, but wanted
inlay from the beautiful colors in the slab. Won’t be so naive next
time.
Rose Marie Christison
In addition to our jewelry, we carve stones by sandblasting names,
designs, etc. We do hundreds of them each year. These are natural
stones, such as granite, fieldstone or any other stone hard enough to
hold up. They weigh from 3 lbs to over 3000 lbs. We seal and coat
them with a sealer called Litho clear. It is the same material used
by the monument industry in cemeteries. Besides coating and sealing,
it tends to bring out the color in the stone. (like when people spit
on gem rough at a show, yuk) It lasts very well outside in the
weather. It is a product of Cleveland Lithichrome Inc. Fort Scott,
Kansas, as part of their line of colors for the monument and stone
industry. It is a silicone bonding resin, which they claim is the
nearest organic material to natural silica in weathering resistance.
You spray it on, but not too heavy. You don’t want it so thick as to
peel. It dries in minutes, especially if it is a windy day. It is
available in aerosol cans but much more expensive that way. We buy
it as a liquid and spray it in a little cheap sprayer called an
“Airmite spray gun” Sells for about $35 or so. It has easily
interchanged bottles to hold different colors & solutions. The
bottles are available in glass or plastic… Plastic is best, as the
glass sometimes sticks to the sprayer if you don’t use it often. Buy
some extra bottles with the sprayer. Easy to clean, just wipe the
tube, stick the tube in solvent and give it a couple shots and you
are done. It also makes a wonderful sprayer for pripps flux. When
using the Litho clear, if you see cobwebs forming in the air, add a
little solvent to the clear,until it stops. The Litho and Airmite
sprayer are available from
Bicknell Supply Co.
PO Box 900
Elberton, Georgia 30635
706-283-8230
or
Wenzco Supplies Inc.
2910 Schoeneck Rd.
Macungie, Pennsylvania 18062
1-800-346-7805
wenzco.com
If you have any problems, there are other distributors… Ask me for
more names or contact Cleveland Lithichrome for distributors.
Dave Anderson
Erik Jewelers
I've been wondering if there's any reason NOT to cut a stone this way: flat back, oval shape, but rough surface?
Nope Lorraine, no reason at all not to. There’s a couple of caveats,
though. You need to angle the sides a bit just like any cab, and in
a nugget cut sometimes that angle will do wierd things on the top.
Or you could do some custom cut, custom setting, which would be up
to you. Second is pretty obvious, but you need to make sure the
crystal is fairly solid so it doesn’t just flake away under wear.
Otherwise, cut away!!
I'm happy to see this topic introduced, because I have a related question. I've been wondering if there's any reason NOT to cut a stone this way: flat back, oval shape, but rough surface? On our property, we have lots of very attractive white quartz, some with black tourmaline crystals, some with smoky quartz. I think it would look better "cabbed" if the surface were left rough instead of polished. It sparkles like wild.
If you get what they call “thin-set mortar” and some wire mesh
backing from a stone and tile store or home improvement centre, you
can stick those stones to any wall.
What I am trying to find out now is if there are finishes available
like varnish to cover and protect the natural beauty of such stones.
Good luck with your project. Keep us informed if you have time.
PtP
If you put clear epoxy on stone, it looks like, well, epoxy on stone. very bizarre. if you want a polished look, polish it.
True, but the OP apparently wanted a varnished look. This is
(unfortunately) common now among dealers of cabbing rough. Some
specimens prove not to take a polish after you cut through the epoxy
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
Varnish is for wood.
Metal (silver) tarnishes.
Stones of any sort are meant be cut and polished with a lapidary
grinder and polisher. You can control the amount of shine you like. I
free form stones for my jewelry for a natural look. Then I polish the
stones just enough to enhance their qualities, as opposed to a
glossy, glass-like shine. Beach rocks can also be done this way, but
some in the Pacific Northwest have already been shined by the waves.
Some just need a little rubbing in your hands for an extra shine.
Jane Penman
La Conner, WA