Care
Of Your Meteorites
Meteorite
Information
Meteorite
Adventures
Scenes
From the Meteorite Field
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How to Handle you Admire Pallasite Slice
It is best to handle your slice by the edges, avoiding touching the
face of it with your fingers as our fingers have natural oil on them.
Please remember that your slices are usually only 3-4mm thick, and they
can literally break into pieces if they are dropped or bumped against
something solid. Make sure your hands are clean and dry before handling
them. Don't stack your slices on top or each other; your best way to
store them is either in a display case or in a riker box. A riker box
is a very sturdy box that has a glass front, allowing you to be able to
see inside the box without opening it. They have cotton underneath for
protection. We take a clean piece of computer paper and cut it to fit
the riker box and place that on top of the cotton - this actually
allows you to see the true look of the crystals even better than with
just the cotton behind it. |
How to Care For Your Admire Pallasite Meteorite Slice
Your Admire Slice has been prepared using several
steps which were developed from advanced technology in both processes
and products dealing with rust. We can't give you the exact
details of each and every step that we do, because it is proprietary
information that belongs to all of us who have been involved in the
discovery of the stabilization process we are using; but we can tell
you that the entire process takes well over a week to complete. These
processes and products are designed to arrest the rusting that the
Admire Meteorite is known for.
Always keep your meteorites, especially slices of any kind, in a dry
place. Air and moisture are the worst enemies. Please check your
meteorite at least once a month to look for any signs of change.
The
Admire Pallasite Meteorite slice that you have purchased has been
coated with a clear acrylic as it's final step to keep it protected
from moisture in the air. If you have any problems, please
contact us as soon as
possible and we will be happy to refinish it for you. Iron will
rust and most of our meteorites are high in iron, however we make
every effort to stabilize every meteorite that
we process so that they will last for many years to come. We do
not gaurantee our meteorites not to rust but we will refinish them at
no charge. |
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Care of Your Other Meteorites
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Congratulations!
If you are here reading this, you must be the proud owner of a
beautiful, one of a kind meteorite. Some Meteorites
are composed of iron- they will rust unless properly taken care of.
Below are instructions on how to keep your iron meteorite looking like the
day you got it!
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Meteorite Care
For Pallasite Slices or Etched Slices (not coated with acrylic)
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Items
you will need:
Q-tips, CLR
(Calcium, Lime, and Rust
remover)
90% rubbing
alcohol,
ATF (Automatic
Transmission Fluid)
clean, soft rags.
1) Dip a Q-tip
into the CLR
2) Touch the area that is
rusting with the dipped Q-tip, then gently rub away the rust.
3) Wipe the entire meteorite down at least 3
times with a
soft, clean rag soaked in
rubbing alcohol. you do not want
to leave any clr on your meteorite as it will turn
the slice yellow.
4) Allow the slice to dry
completely.
5) Submerge the slice in
ATF, preferably overnight.
6) Remove from the ATF and
wipe all the ATF off the slice with a soft rag.
This process will give your slice a shelf life
of 3-12 months- more or less- depending on the humidity where you live.
This process will not dull the etch, as long as you don't leave
CLR on the slice; and can be done as often as you see rust developing
on the surface.
Note:
If the entire slice has been overcome by rust then it must be sanded,
polished and re-etched. If you purchased your slice from us and this
has happened, you can send it to us and we will restore it
for you at no charge except for shipping both ways
(The information given on this website is based upon how we treat our
meteorites.
We are not responsible for any damage as a result of this
information.)
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Meteorite Care
For Natural Individuals |
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you are lucky enough to have an Iron or Stoney-Iron Meteorite
with it's natural patina still intact, then you are lucky indeed! Only
a true collector will appreciate the beauty and simplicity of
maintaining a natural specimen.
For the most part, you will never need to do anything to your natural
specimen. It will long outlast you and probably your great
grandchildren! The outer layer or patina that your natural meteorite
has will protect it. If you live in a high humidity area, you might
want to invest in a small dehumidifier that you can buy at most
Wal-Mart type stores, and an enclosed glass display case. Handling your
meteorites will allow the natural oils that are on our hands to also
give the meteorite a natural oil protection. If your specimen becomes too rusted, or you have some concerns, please
send us an email and we will try to help you. |
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