FAIRY OPAL ROUGH

This is a large piece of fairy opal untreated and make a good specimen for carving.

photo taken wet.
--On the opal field the normal treatment is to wrap the stones in aluminum foil with a some sugar and olive oil and throw into the hot coals for 15 minutes.I have tried this with varying success.
- You can heat the stones in a oven to 100 degress F [38C] for a hour to dry them out
Place gently in a bowl with syrup of sugar. Heat for 8 hours but not to boiling as you will loose the water so the sugar seeps in to the stone-i once left for over a week and had good results.
Wrap in aluminum foil and heat to 400 for 4 hours-you can check earlier. This is best done on a out door bbq,kiln or oven.
-You can treated like Andamooka matrix with acid-details are in the learning section on the site.

TREATMENT FOR FAIRY OPAL AND ANDAMOOKA MATRIX WITH SUGAR ONLY.


MATERIALS
250 grams glucose,white castor sugar,pot or pressure cooker,plastic tweezers.
STEPS
-Pre shape the material

- Thoroughly dry the material in oven sun or hairdryer.
- Put water in pot on low temperature and add glucose and castor sugar. DO NOT BOIL.
-Place warmed stones into warm solution and cover the stone with liquid.
-leave on low temperature for 24 hours but DONT BOIL.
-Remove with tweezers and let cool.Use a paper town to wipe away access.
The next steep is to carbonize the sugar in the stone. Place the stones on a metal or pyrex dish and place in a kiln at 600 degrees for one hour.This will burn or carbonize the sugar in the stone.
_When the stones have cooled clean on a grinding wheel.
Remember to take all precautions with gloves and mask and clothing with good ventilation.
This is a natural product so results may vary a bit due to how porous the sandstone is. Some material will have to be treated a few times to get good results. You can also experiment with various temperatures as i like to cook with lower temperatures.
Remember to have fun!
WE HAVE TAKEN THE PHOTO WITH THE ROUGH WET.
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POLISHING
This parcel The surface is porous so its hard to get a good finish.
You can polish as a natural stone or coat it with resin to get a better finish.
We suggest a polymer resin as its stable.inert and nontoxic and dosent yellow..Check out our listings of fairy opal polished in sedaopals.Some of there were polished in china under vacume with a amazing finish.
We have also used mono-compontent thermo set resin,cynoacrylates and 2 parts resin but these can turn yellow over time. ive even heard of nail polished used and hardened under uv lights.