Cleaning points

[fyrffytr1]

Does anyone soak their points in mineral oil? I have tried some brokes and it either brings out the natural color or doesn't do anything.
Are there any other methods to restoring them?

 

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[The Grim Reaper]

I can't stress this strongly enough. Never, never, ever soak your points or any artifacts in any kind of oils or cleaners. The only thing you ever need to clean any artifact is a very soft tootbrush and warm water. That's it. Nothing else.

 

[joshuaream]

It's pretty common practice to soak some Florida points in mineral oil, because it brings out the colors. They dry out over time, and can be resoaked or left plain. It's also pretty commonly done on white or beige points from Belize (turns them a golden amber color.)

From what I've seen and played with, it doesn't do anything to most midwestern lithics.

 

[larson1951]

for me
i agree w/SRV

this my opinion only,
why would we want to "improve" the appearance of a piece,
don't we want to leave it alone? it is only my thoughts, don't get ticked off at my comment
i think i am too old fashioned most of the time like a farmer, i don't even want to wash a piece real good after i find it,
thinking and maybe leave it alone ?, you can always do that later,
lars

 

[fyrffytr1]

Most of the points I find here, in the field, have turned white. Soaking them cleans the white residue off and restores the natural colors. I do not use this method on all my finds, only the ones that have the white residue on them.
I reckon there are two sides to every debate. I don't think white was what the original color of the points and since I am not in to selling them I like them to look the way they did when they were made.

 

[larson1951]

hey thanks fryffrytr1, i am learning a lot here
i did not know some pieces change colors like you said
i am glad to know what you say
larson1951

 

[fyrffytr1]

Here are before and after pics of some brokes that I soaked for about twelve hours. For some reason I did not soak the top left point in the first picture. As you can see it only brought back some of the original color. If I had soaked them longer more color may have been brought out. The after picture more closely resembles water finds to me.

 

[Treefrog]

isnt that white what is called patina?
you guys know i clean mine, the field finds are all washed in liquid soap and warm water with an old toothbrush. all the dug finds with mineral deposits all over them
hits the acid for 20 secs.
I am not interested in the value that much cause Im not looking to sell them, just want to see the working on them much clearer with all of the grub off of them.
Tree

 

[Tnmountains]

I think that looks good. I am betting the indians rubbed oil and grease on the points as well to make for a good looking trade.We know they heated them to bring out the color and make the materials more workable. I say do what you want as they are yours.
The same topic rages in civil war items and dug coins. Get this I spray satin polyeurathane on broke pottery sherds to frame them in shadow boxes. Makes em purdy to me

 

[joshuaream]

The white stuff is part of the patina, but the mineral deposits people would look for are still there...

Instead of acid, try CLR or Lime-Away on the excess mineral deposits. Acid certainly works, but depending on the stone can do more than you want. Also, give it about 20 years but the little bit that stays in the pores of the piece will mess up your display cases (museums have that problem from when used acids to clean items.)

Us collectors from the midwest have been spoiled, most of the pieces can just be rinsed off in the field and be as clean as need be. I still recommend not cleaning pieces, but I understand that people do.

As a side note, when I worked on some excavations in Central America, we would find artifacts caked in cinnabar (a natural combination of mercury and sulfur) which looks like an intensely red ochre. Powdered cinnabar is so toxic that looters often avoided tombs that had an excess of it, they wouldn't let undergrads work with the material. It was a pretty serious process to remove as much of the mercury as possible, and you couldn't let the stuff get into the rivers.

isnt that white what is called patina?
you guys know i clean mine, the field finds are all washed in liquid soap and warm water with an old toothbrush. all the dug finds with mineral deposits all over them
hits the acid for 20 secs.
I am not interested in the value that much cause Im not looking to sell them, just want to see the working on them much clearer with all of the grub off of them.
Tree

 

[Jonzer]

I only clean mine with a toothbrush and water.
However, I really like the after pics up there compared to the befores.
I think I will try the oil on a few points just to see.
I never intend on selling my collection as I plan to pass em down to my oldest daughter. She hunts and appreciates them too.
I always leave the patina on mine but nowadays I question myself why.
I don't care if anyone thinks my collection is fake.
Tn Mountains, thanks for the tip on the pottery shards. I'm gonna try that. I have buckets of broken pottery and no ideas on what to do with em.

 

[Tnmountains]

Here is some poly on some old broken pottery. We pick up this stuff by the bucket fulls.

 

[Buckhunter]

I think thats a great Idea for pottery shards, looks really nice and shows the patterns in the clay better.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Here is another point that was soaked. You can still see the mineral deposits in it.