[Rockhounds] HALITE

[DonH]

Axel Emmermann wrote:

> Clearcoat: is that some kind of wax?


That's a generic term for a clear paint or coating here in the states; 
usually acrylic or some related plastic resin.

Keep in mind that coating specimens only delays the inevitable.  I once 
looked over some specimens for the museum, and among the collection was 
a box labeled as halite or some other evaporite alkali halide, and 
inside the box was a wet, white sludge--along with a skin of some sort 
of clear coating in the vague shape of a crystal cluster.  It looked 
like a snake had shed its skin.  In the end, nature will always win, 
unless you keep the specimen in an isolated equilibrated microenvironment.

I wonder about UV transparency regarding various coatings.  Many 
plastics block SW, though I have found that very thin plastics, such as 
Saran wrap (a thin plastic sheet for wrapping your food), will allow SW 
to pass.  Many plastics will also fluoresce in LW.

I coated some Franklin material with a very thin layer or Norland 
Optical Adhesive, and it did not affect the SW fluorescence.  Of course, 
those specimens are very responsive and I would not have noticed a 
slight diminution in intensity.


Best,
Don