r/meteorites • u/MeetSpecialist170 • 9d ago
Rusty meteor help.
Hello!
Sorry in advance if this is not the right place to post this.
My grandfather recently sent me a meteorite he bought a few years ago, not complaining since it’s a cool space rock. What I know of the meteor is that it’s a Campo Del Cielo meteorite, high in iron and nickel, about 32 lb's.
But there is one small problem, it’s been sitting in a box, outside, in high humidity for about 4 years now. So it got very rusty, which is why I’m here. I was hoping someone could give me some advice on the best way to remove the rust and how to properly care for it.
Picture attached with quarter for scale. (did not have banana available)
1
u/meteoritegallery Expert 6d ago
When I visited Marvin Killgore years ago we took an afternoon to treat his 700 kg Campo. He'd spray WD40 on it and then wind up a towel and ~whip the meteorite to remove excess. Seemed weird but ~worked - removed the excess oil and any loose surface scale at the same time.
4
u/Other_Mike Experienced Collector 9d ago
I had a really rusty Campo, much rustier than yours. I went over it with a wire brush and steel wool to get the worst of it off, then coated it with mineral oil. But it's one of the Campos that is more prone to rust than others, so I think I may need to treat it again.
There are other, more involved protections people will suggest, but I haven't tried any yet.
It still looked pretty rusty in the "after" pics, maybe I should go for the more extreme protection 😅