More questions about cleaning gold

Hi all, back in Oct.09 "goinbush" posted a couple of before & after pics of nuggets after using Boss cleaning gel (stainless steel weld cleaner/pickle) which looked like it worked a treat.

I have got hold of some S-Weld cleaner, different name same stuff.

Being aware of all safety procedures, MSDS, Risk Assessement, PPE, SOP'S etc.etc.etc. Instant death etc.

My question now is this, I have just put about 20 off the most filthy crappy looking pieces which look to me like they are infused with ironstone, up to about 28gms (around 100gms in all) into this gloop. I note "goinbush" had his in for 12hrs... How do I get the gel off?

I'm thinking of puting them into Ali-Brite after the gel then to soak in Bi-Carb solution, thats if there's anything left of them. I think these ones may need more than 12hrs.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Phill.

Hi Phil, I haven't used these cleaners you mention but I do use Hydrocloric Acid and it gets the ironstone off, the trick is to take gold out of acid every day or two and scrub and put back into acid and repeat process until the ironstone is all clean. When the acid gets yellow in colour you need to change it, usually 3-4 days. Other Guys here probably do it a little different, so do what works best for you and always hanldle the acid with care as it stains.
Hope this helps,
uncle bob.

Uncle Bob, just so you are aware S-Weld like Boss is 5% Hydrofluric and 30% Nitric it will do a little more than stain, Ali-Bright about 1% HF, Hydrocloric on the other hand is used in swimming pools......

For the few that have followed this thread (I know its pretty boring stuff)
but here's a bit of an update.
With the help from Uncle Bob we accetained that its "Honeycomb" gold.
The bulk of the stuff went in the gloop for 68hrs.
Sorry about the quality of the photos/lighting etc





some better pieces were removed after about 36hrs





The bits in for 68hrs were soaked in Bi-Carb solution for about a week, then into soda water then rinsed with warm soapy water, (as were the other bits).



All in all I don't think it was really worth the effort, they still look pretty crap to me.
I think next step will be to dolly them up and try melting them into something a bit more presentable.





Any feed back would be appreciated
Cheers phill.

I agree Phill "pretty crap lookin'' -- idea!! send them to me!! lol ha ha ! you need to get that Hydrofluoric stuff to clean them but be real careful with it!!

I agree they are not pretty but wow they are big. Thanks so much for showing us these pics. I love to see gold in any form..

Dicko..

Before you dolly them up try putting them in a tumbler
for a while.They might polish up OK.

Alan

Murachu, hydrofluric at 5% was what they were in.(S-Weld Pickle)
Careful.... your right there, made me itchy just looking at the sealed container!
The fish went belly up & the canary fell off its perch,
Dog ran away & it started raining, possably had something to do with
with a big cyclone up north!
Put a stainless steel spoon in and it tried to dissolve it.
It is very wicked stuff.
The tumbler idea.. its porous and very grainy, so much so that I don't think
it would polish. Alan, what is a tumbler anyway? I could always try a sample run?
When I've scrubbed some it sheds tiny flakes/grains of gold.
Dicko.... some are really good, (size) something like 28, 27, & 24gms pieces
Annoyingly three off them were once one bit! It broke up with the initial scrub with
a toothbrush in a bowl of water, your the jeweller how clean do I need to get it before
I try to melt it down? Will the borax bring out the "impuritys"??

This sort of thing...

http://www.amazon.com/Raytech-Tumble-Vibe-Vibrator-Tumbler-Starter/dp/B0013KKLMS

Seen them in Kal for about $70

Your species might not be suitable if they are crumbling
in your hand. Just dolly them up fine as possible
and pan off.

Alan

Gday Phil
I agree with Alan. No sentiment about the crappy looking ones, whack em in the dolly pot and make a nice little cone ingot or something up.
I used to use HF acid when I prospected full time and knowing it's properties I wouldn't go near it again now and count myself lucky I didn't have any accidents when using it. I wouldn't even touch the low solution stuff.
cheers
Brett