Wow look at this baby cleaned in the sun

[trevmma]

Pestle i just found and WEll finally got some sun and some mineral oil and cleaned it good , and wow this thing is beautiful as crap, thanks everyone for your responses . Hopefully will be posting another killer find one day, thanks for watching.

 

[GatorBoy]

You really put mineral oil on it?
That can cause some real discrepancies when it comes to any future authentication.
I'm sure it could be removed.. but then it would appear chemically altered.

 

[trevmma]

Has mineral deposits all over it, it's a no brainier . Will it take them off ? When it's wet it right red, but dries to a almost looks like dirt in the quartz from the quartz being crushed by pecking.

 

[GatorBoy]

It will make it look great.. it doesn't really remove the deposits it just makes them transparent.
In time it will go back to the way it looked before .. as the oil dries out.
It just creates all sorts of problems down the road for authenticators.
It's pretty common to use on points also.. and has great looking results.
But it's also used by folks who try to pass off modern reproductions as authentic as it masks new flake scars and other production marks.
That thing is BEAUTIFUL by the way.

 

[trevmma]

Oh, this thing is a no brainier in person I will try to use my phone to take pic of what the deposits look like

 

[trevmma]

Early thick iron deposits on this thing

 

[trevmma]

Thanks gator

 

[trevmma]

Oly reason I used it is because quartz when crushed or pecked looks very white or yellow,

 

[GatorBoy]

Whooo! Still Flabbergasted with that! It's perfect!

 

[rock]

Yeah you cant put mineral oil on quartzite type of quartz. No grainy type of material at all. Flint and Chert if it is a smooth slick texture is ok but nothing grainy. It can ruin it. Schist, Granite, Quartzite just to name a few is a big no no. I have ruined a couple of pieces. I just dont use it at all anymore. I like the natural patina.

 

[joshuaream]

Awesome piece.

Not to hijack a thread, but Trevmma didn't do any damage to the piece or make it questionable by oiling it...

Guys, real patina on hardstone isn't going to be damaged or hidden by mineral oil (even on Florida points.) It may take away some of the white cloudiness or increase translucency, but mineral deposits are still there. I've seen a lot of people sell fake Florida points with the excuse that "it's been oiled, so no patina" which is a crock. Mineral oil might make an ugly rock even uglier, but eventually it will evaporate and the rock will go back to it's original condition.

Real patina on solid stone is a pretty tough stuff. Take a broken point and scrub it, boil it, soak it in vinegar, scrub it with toothpaste, etc. It takes a lot to get it off. Shell and limestone? Patina comes off very easily.

 

[trevmma]

why thanks josh, makes me feel a little better lol, yeah it was cloudy, looks great now and plus there is a huge well a bunch of huge iron no brainer deposits, it has took away some gleam but i took it off and it gleaming and still red so ill stop at that, lol

 

[rock]

Its not good to put it on porus types of stone it can change the color to ugly. Some whiltes will turn dark

 

[NC field hunter]

Not that I think mineral oil will cause any negative affect, but I can't see any positive affect either. The cloudy appearance is kinda like oxidation on paint. If this piece were mine, and it's not, I'd use the oils from my skin to bring the stones polished color back to life. I would think this piece got its polish from who ever used it, while they were using it. Just think of the hours this stone spent in someone's hand. I'm sure as they worked and sweated, oils from their pores polished the stone. Either way, I love this piece. I have never used any oils on my finds. I have always thought it would make them slick and easy to drop. Please don't let anyone drop this true international treasure.

 

[GatorBoy]

I stated in my post that it does not remove patina.. it only makes it transparent for a time ...then it dries...the problem comes down the road for potential authenticatirs.

 

[GatorBoy]

The AACA website has a very good write up about exactly this.
www.theaaca.com/Learning_Center/oiling points/oiling_points.htm

 

[trevmma]

when it came from field it looked white after cleaning, then after rubbing it with hand oil turned to this color, so i just put mineral oil on it to make it stay longer red. looks more like when and why the indian used it this way. would never do this to a no brainer object, this in person is a absolute no brainer so i went ahead and did it . i can honestly say it looks a lot better , and if i was a believer i would think the ancient man would be looking down once again and remembering why he was proud of that pestle, this quartz is very tough hard stuff and it deserves for the anicient makers sake and respect to show it like it was when he made it. i will never ever sell this or anything i ever own, but one day when and if i make it to 70 i will hand it away to a not so lucky young collector

 

[rock]

Now that you put the 2 pics up I can see it does look better. Mine didnt turn out looking good.

 

[trevmma]

I just wiped it on , had no clue after reading gators post people soaked them that long wow. Pretty neat to kinda get closer look to what the ancients looked at

 

[catherine1]

Thanks for the before and after pics. The oil only changed the color like staining wood. Once the oil evaporates it will look the same again.