First World Crystal Problems - Help Please?

Hour Glass · #1 11-09-2018, 06:46 PM

Went on vacation with my family and came across a shop that sold loads of crystals. The guy selling them claims that he mines them from the nearby mountain. I bought some but noticed that he had marked on them with a marker. I don't know if it was a permanent marker or what but I wanted to know if anyone knew how to clean something like that off of crystals. Thank you in advance!

Crystal canuck · #2 12-09-2018, 03:35 AM

Do you know what type of crystals you have ? If you knew it would help narrow down the cleaning process. In most cases some mild soap diluted with water with a soft cloth would suffice in most cases, but some crystals are water soluble and can get damaged this way. Even with such a crystal it might be worth doing still, rather than have the ink from the marker on it. I would use a cloth though and only enough water as needed.

Depending on the type of crystal, certain acids can work wonders, but again this depends on the mineral in question. Try a little sunlight soap on the end of a Q-tip with a tiny bit of water just to moisten it a bit, and then go over a small part of the ink very lightly and see if there is an improvement.

BigJohn · #3 13-09-2018, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hour Glass

Went on vacation with my family and came across a shop that sold loads of crystals. The guy selling them claims that he mines them from the nearby mountain. I bought some but noticed that he had marked on them with a marker. I don't know if it was a permanent marker or what but I wanted to know if anyone knew how to clean something like that off of crystals. Thank you in advance!

I am curious why he had them marked?

Where the crystals the type that have water trapped inside them?

Hour Glass · #4 13-09-2018, 11:19 PM

Hey guys, thank you for commenting.

I got a selenite and a rose quartz

He had numbers marked on the rose quartz. Mine has a 2 on it. I'm unsure why he was marking them.

Also, I can easily scratch the selenite with my fingernails. Is it normal for selenite to be scratched so easily?

BigJohn · #5 14-09-2018, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hour Glass

Hey guys, thank you for commenting.

I got a selenite and a rose quartz

He had numbers marked on the rose quartz. Mine has a 2 on it. I'm unsure why he was marking them.

Also, I can easily scratch the selenite with my fingernails. Is it normal for selenite to be scratched so easily?

Selenite is very soft.... which is nice if you should nick it or whatever.

The rose quartz may have marks referring to the grade of rose quartz - in your case grade 2.

As for cleaning, you can use a general cleaner that will remove ink.

As for clearing, charging, etc. - do not leave her out in the sun too much - she might change to white quartz (oucch!).

Nature Grows · #6 14-09-2018, 01:47 AM

The title of this thread is funny.

Crystal canuck · #7 15-09-2018, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Selenite is very soft.... which is nice if you should nick it or whatever.
.

Forgive me for my ignorance and impetuous response, but how is this nice ? A crystal that is prone to damage is a nice feature ?

BigJohn · #8 15-09-2018, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crystal canuck

Forgive me for my ignorance and impetuous response, but how is this nice ? A crystal that is prone to damage is a nice feature ?

If you break a point off of a quartz specimen - you have a problem.

With Selenite if you break off a point, no big deal. Something as simple as a finger nail polish board can put a new point on the Selenite in no time.

Crystal canuck · #9 15-09-2018, 05:25 AM

Hmmm...interesting. I suppose along the same thoughts you could repair a scratch or small chip in the specimen with some light polishing ? I can see the advantage in this regard.

BigJohn · #10 15-09-2018, 06:21 PM

You got it!