arharris56 Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hi All, I found a nice bunch of native Platinum nuggets and have had them soaking in Muriatic (HCl)acid for awhile now but I am not getting down to the shine. I have thought about nitric acid but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get hold of. Does any one have any ideas of what chemical(s) might get them bright and shiny ?Thanks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 I wouldnt put anything in Muriatic acid.... takes a while to get the stink off ,and it is way to acidic. How bout a rock polisher with really fine grit....they would be real pretty after that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Muriatic has done a good job so far and putting the nugget(s)in water with baking soda takes care of the smell and neutralizes the acid as well. I am afraid that the rock polisher would take off too much material and take about 6 weeks of running to finish. Has any one tried Nitric acid ?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldies1955 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hi All, I found a nice bunch of native Platinum nuggets and have had them soaking in Muriatic (HCl)acid for awhile now but I am not getting down to the shine. I have thought about nitric acid but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get hold of. Does any one have any ideas of what chemical(s) might get them bright and shiny ?Thanks ! I use acid and work with metals a lot. I don't know of any acid that will get a metal shiny. It will remove corrosion and other types of minerals attached to it but the metal will not come out shiny. Gold does come out yellow after acid...but not shiny. There are processes for polishing with certain solutions..(electropolishing) but that would probably be cost prohibitive for a couple of nuggets. If you want them shiny you could always buff them with buffing compound and a small wheel in a dremel. Just do it inside of a box....small parts have a way of shooting across the room...never to be found again. If you live around Peoria Az. your welcome to come over to the shop and buff them out. I have all the supplies.Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azoverland Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 I don't care if they are shinning or not. Am I the only one who would like to see a picture of a nice bunch of native Platinum nuggets?? - Let's see em'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aufool Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Yeah, Howabout some pic's. also would be nice to know the general area as to where they came from. I found some once but unfortanatly they were stolen from me and the area where i found them was suddenly made into a National Monument by Bruce Babbitt and Bill Clinton, so i can hunt there no longer. Isn't our Government wonderful?Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Nitric or muratic wont hurt them but it wont make em shiney. I would put them in a tumbler with walnut shells, and check on em often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugbomb510 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 What the hell does platinum look like? I heard cubes.. If your in "Northern" Northern Cali.. I have heard rumors of certain places.. Supposid fields.Ugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Thanks Tom ! I appreciate the advice and the invite but unfortunately I live in Southern Oregon. I will give the Dremel thing a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 What the hell does platinum look like? I heard cubes.. If your in "Northern" Northern Cali.. I have heard rumors of certain places.. Supposid fields.Ugs The ones I have look sort of like buttons and have a kind of light grey coating on them. There are lots of good nugget pics on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Here is a pic of the nuggets that I am working with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldies1955 Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Here is a pic of the nuggets that I am working with. You will only be able to get the high spots shiny with buffing. I would use the white compound. Its made for harder metals.Use plenty of compound when buffing. Thats whats doing the work, not the wheel itself.Once done you will have buffing compound stuck down in the crevises. Use HOT dawn dish soap and a tooth brush to remove it. Let is soak to soften the compound up.Good luck and remember to do it in a box!Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 This says it all ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arharris56 Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Sorry about that ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver dog doug Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hi All, I found a nice bunch of native Platinum nuggets and have had them soaking in Muriatic (HCl)acid for awhile now but I am not getting down to the shine. I have thought about nitric acid but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get hold of. Does any one have any ideas of what chemical(s) might get them bright and shiny ?Thanks !I tried everything to clean the Silver Dog. Finely, I took a small Brass brush to it. It worked Can you see the dime near the mouth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azoverland Posted October 14, 2011 Report Share Posted October 14, 2011 I tried everything to clean the Silver Dog. Finely, I took a small Brass brush to it. It worked Can you see the dime near the mouth?Everytime I see "The Dog" I think how frickin' cool that thing is....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver dog doug Posted October 16, 2011 Report Share Posted October 16, 2011 Everytime I see "The Dog" I think how frickin' cool that thing is.......Yea, me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jburdd1 Posted June 21, 2021 Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 On 10/13/2011 at 6:56 PM, arharris56 said: Muriatic has done a good job so far and putting the nugget(s)in water with baking soda takes care of the smell and neutralizes the acid as well. I am afraid that the rock polisher would take off too much material and take about 6 weeks of running to finish. Has any one tried Nitric acid ? Thanks I have some nitric if you are looking for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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