Hi,
Wondering what people use to safely remove refractometer liquid from gems after using them on the refractometer?
The liquid is very volatile and toxic, I notice gems retain residue even after sitting in water/wiping with cloth.
Have tried googling/searching for answers but no results.
Any advice?
You may want to consider a little bit of isopropyl alcohol if you are confident the gems haven’t been dyed/oiled.
Thank you
Other suggestions welcome too
Do people wear PPE? Mask/gloves?
Acetone is best as it is volatile and a good solvent for oily liquids. But use it outside or in a well ventilated room with no naked flames around. It is also a good solvent for acrylate glues such as “super glue”. Disposable nitrile gloves are good if you want to avoid acetone stripping the oils off your skin while using acetone in a swab with tissue.
Isopropyl typically does not require PPE. Its the same stuff as rubbing alcohol.
The goal is to remove the RI fluid from the stone without damaging any treatments. Acetone will absolutely destroy an oil/resin treatment, and many other stabilizing treatments will also be damaged with acetone.
Poor me! I didn’t realise so many so-called natural stones have been treated with oils and resins to enhance their color and lustre. A very brief wipe with an acetone wetted tissue shouldn’t harm a natural stone unless it has been surface dyed. Some emeralds are deeply impregnated with oil so acetone will only remove surface traces on brief contact. Alcohols are also OK but can also affect some dyes, oils and resins if contact is prolonged.