Cleaning with Muriatic Acid

[PennyG]

Good afternoon.
I have a lot of pyrite specimens I have collected over the years and want to clean them.
I've read up on the cleaning process by using Muriatic Acid, however, some say to dilute in 2 parts water/ 1 part Acid, and then some articles say not to dilute.
Any words of advice would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks [emoji4]

 

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[Capt Nemo]

Don't hit the fossils with the CLR.

 

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[stdenis_jd]

Oxalic acid works great against rust and tannins. It's in Barkeeper's Friend (powder tho, you'd have to make it into a poultice or scrub it right in) and Thompson's water seal/wood bleach. I usually use pure oxalic acid mixed in a 5-gallon bucket. Works great but can ruin softer materials and organic compounds like limestone. I mix up a few gallons and leave a pile of rocks in for 24-48 hours, sometimes longer. I usually am soaking quartzite and similar hardnesses

 

[meMiner]

CLR works, but is an expensive way to clean rocks.

 

[PennyG]

I've used clr before. It worked great but not for fossils.