32. Collector’s Edge Minerals, Inc. Cleaning Lab
A Behind the Scenes at the Collector's Edge Cleaning Lab in Golden ColoradoBy: Justin Zzyzx
When you think of Collector's Edge, one often thinks of cases full of world class specimens on display at all the best mineral shows. Well, I'll tell you why! Because Collector's Edge takes great pride in the perfection of the specimens they offer. How does a mineral become perfect? That is where the Collector's Edge Onsite Cleaning Facility comes in. This state of the art commercial labratory handles over 20,000 in house specimens each year, as well as numerous commissions from outside sources each week. Collector's Edge Technicians can do it all, cleaning and conservation, repair and restoration, even chemical digestive work. Let's take a closer look at some of the team in action.
There are many ways for mineral specimens to be cleaned. At the most basic level, most all non-soluble minerals benefit from being washed off. On the other hand, nothing gets Cookite off Tourmaline better than a Micro-Abrasive machine! The cleaning lab at Collector's Edge is like a dream come true to anyone who has dabbled in cleaning rocks off in their kitchen sink.
Here lab tech? Jon Volter uses a high pressure jet of water to clean off this amazing Colorado Amazonite specimen. High pressure water guns are a wonderful item to have when you want to make a mineral specimen look fantastic.
The adjustable nozzle can be used to remove dust and dirt from the specimens gently or it can be turned up to a much more concentrated blast to peel off a softer mineral from a harder host. It is one of the first steps in any cleaning job and while the price of these used to be several hundred dollars, now you can find them at most mineral shows for less than $100.00. While it looks like these machines were made for the mineral collector alone, these items were actually made for the screen printing industry, to blast ink out of fabric in case of mistakes in printing. Either way, these hand held pressure washer are a mineral cleaner's best friend!
The water jet does a wonderful job of removing debris and dirt from mineral specimens.
The Micro-Abrasive cleaning machines are a time saving tool for cleaning mineral specimens. The Micro-Abrasive cleaning machine is a wonderful tool for cleaning hard to remove or unwanted minerals from a specimen. Originally created for the dental industry, these machines soon found their way into the cleaning of fossils and then in the field of mineral cleaning. The machine is filed with a powder of a certain hardness, then pushed out via a pencil shapped nozzle propelled by compressed air. The result is that minerals that are softer than the abrassive are removed from the specimen, while leaving the harder minerals undamaged. For example, these devices are perfect for removing the soft Mica schist off a much harder mineral such as Garnet. Unfortuatly, the machine and all of the equipment to run it cost several thousand dollars, ruling it out for general use. However, the lab at Collector's Edge has several machines, each with different hardnesses of abrasive powders, to prevent cross contamination.
The Micro-Abrasive unit removes hard mineral deposits off the surface of this Amazonite specimen with ease 
Cleaning minerals under a microscope allows for removal of the smallest imperfections.
Here head lab tech Rob Lorda gets down into the nooks and pits of this Benitoite/Neptunite cluster. Under the microscope Rob discovered a very well done repair job preformed by the previous owner.
Look at this Tourmaline and Quartz Specimen before getting the Collector's Edge work over.
This is what it looks like afterward. Perfectly clean, and ready for showing.
Here is another piece before...
("Beast of Burden"; Collected Scott Kleine & Stephen Renner; Topaz Mt, CO)
And here it is after being cleaned! What a difference!For information about cleaning services offered at The Collector's Edge, contact them at minerals@collectorsedge.com.
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All text & images © 2007 The-Vug.com (Justin Zzyzx) Special Thanks to The Collector's Edge All rights reserved.
Written by Jusitn ZzyzxWebdesign by Brandy Naugle, Copyright 2002-2007; The Vug; a division of Zzyzx Minerals