white mineral deposits

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Bert Weiss
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white mineral deposits

Post by Bert Weiss »

I got a call today from a client who has had one of my fountains for a couple of years now. She complained of white deposits on the glass that won't come off.

I suggested CLR and she said that she tried that and nothing happened. I suggested that she use distilled water and she said that she does. Originally her fountain had marble chips in it, but she told me that she switched to river rock in the beginning.

The only thing I can think of doing is to put CLR in the fountain and let it recirculate. Are there any better chemicals to work with this?

I can see that the worst case scenario is to go at it with a felt wheel and cerium or pumice then cerium.

I'm hoping that somebody can give some useful advice :idea:

I have another project coming up for her so I need to solve this one.

Bert
Barbara Cashman
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Post by Barbara Cashman »

Bert, I did a water fountain and filled it with lapis, quartz, amethyst, agate etc etc etc. Customer has the worst case of crud deposit I ever saw. A lapidary expert said to use Brick Wash from Home Depot/Lowes. Seems to have taken care of the problem. Sounds like there might be a lime or calcium (I'm not a chemist) leach even tho she's using distilled water. That's the only input I have. Good luck - Barbara
Bob
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Post by Bob »

Hi Bert,

Like you, I would have assumed that CLR would remove the white deposit. I also would have assumed that the deposit was either reprecipitation of calcium from the marble, or scale from hard water. The least likely possibility is something being dissolved from the river rocks she has added.

Again I am really surprised that the CLR didn't remove it. The other possibilities are be acetic acid, hydrochloric acid and perhaps muriatic acid.

Acetic acid can be bought in concentrated form from a chemical supply house like Fisher Scientific and is called "glacial acetic acid" (if my memory is correct). In dilute form it is called vinegar.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) should also dissolve calcium carbonate.

The other chemical that might work is muriatic acid.... I believe this is sold as swimming pool cleaner.

Perhaps the acid should be allowed to soak for a while on the glass before being washed off.

Hope it works.

Cheers

Bob
Colin & Helen

Post by Colin & Helen »

Bert

Any 'Rust Converter' that contains phosphoric acid will remove calcium stains the only problem is it's very CORROSIVE and may attack the pumps metal parts...

Colin
Brian and Jenny Blanthorn
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Re: white mineral deposits

Post by Brian and Jenny Blanthorn »

Bert Weiss wrote:I got a call today from a client who has had one of my fountains for a couple of years now. She complained of white deposits on the glass that won't come off.

I suggested CLR and she said that she tried that and nothing happened. I suggested that she use distilled water and she said that she does. Originally her fountain had marble chips in it, but she told me that she switched to river rock in the beginning.

The only thing I can think of doing is to put CLR in the fountain and let it recirculate. Are there any better chemicals to work with this?

I can see that the worst case scenario is to go at it with a felt wheel and cerium or pumice then cerium.

I'm hoping that somebody can give some useful advice :idea:

I have another project coming up for her so I need to solve this one.

Bert
I think 2 have a fountain running for years n not expect any deposits is probabbly asking the impossible

The longer it runs the more the problem

One solution is 2 age it B4 the coustomer gets it

There R chemists over craftweb who could poss assist in ur quest
Image
rosanna gusler
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Post by rosanna gusler »

hi bert, clr is not a useful product in my opinion. if toilet bowl cleaner does not work, try going to lowes or someplace like that and buying a product for getting sprinkler stains off stucco/brick etc. these products do the job but are buffered or something so they do not do too much collateral damage. also be aware that fumes and mists from any of these products are heavier than air and can royally screw up carpet dyes . rosanna
charlie
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 3:08 pm

Post by charlie »

Bob wrote:Hi Bert,

Like you, I would have assumed that CLR would remove the white deposit. I also would have assumed that the deposit was either reprecipitation of calcium from the marble, or scale from hard water. The least likely possibility is something being dissolved from the river rocks she has added.

Again I am really surprised that the CLR didn't remove it. The other possibilities are be acetic acid, hydrochloric acid and perhaps muriatic acid.

Acetic acid can be bought in concentrated form from a chemical supply house like Fisher Scientific and is called "glacial acetic acid" (if my memory is correct). In dilute form it is called vinegar.

Hydrochloric acid (HCl) should also dissolve calcium carbonate.

The other chemical that might work is muriatic acid.... I believe this is sold as swimming pool cleaner.

Perhaps the acid should be allowed to soak for a while on the glass before being washed off.

Hope it works.

Cheers

Bob
muriatic acid is really a diluted HCl.

you can go to a tile place and get other, better, mineral cleaners. they're using for removing grout haze, and are mostly phosphoric acid. clr is actually a mixture of mild phosphoric acid and a couple of other acids.

then again, cola's have a good percentage of phosphoric acid in it too. that's why they're so good at dissolving teeth.
Dick Ditore
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Location: San Diego, Ca
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Post by Dick Ditore »

Hi Bert. I have had the same problem. Sometimes CLR works, sometimes the other products mentioned work. I have had to soak items at times. I have used distilled water as well. I'm thinking that the rocks release some minerals over time, or the combination of dust and dirt settling, and running through the pump. I think the only answer is periodic cleaning of the basin, rocks, and pump.


Dick
Hugo Gavarini
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 12:03 pm
Location: Patagonia Argentina

ageing and beauty

Post by Hugo Gavarini »

Bert and all,

I have found a very interesting site...

http://nautarch.tamu.edu/class/anth605/File0.htm

which deals with conservation of many materials. Although the title is “Methods of Conserving Archeological Material from Underwater Sitesâ€
Hugo
Bert Weiss
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Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2003 12:06 am
Location: Chatham NH
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Re: ageing and beauty

Post by Bert Weiss »

[quote="Hugo Gavarini"]
I is apparent that soda-lime-silica glasses age in contact with water, and that it is a natural evolution. Then, there is not a “deffectâ€
Kevin Midgley
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:36 am
Location: Tofino, British Columbia, Canada

Post by Kevin Midgley »

If the acids don't work and the glass has chemically changed the alternative to grinding that might be easier is to sandblast. Kevin
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