Colorado Goethite, Best in the USA! Options

[MikeS]

You clean yours with a textile gun?

No, but it is on the list of things to get along with a lapidary unit/trim saw. They cleaned up kinda nice with the soapy water and gentle toothbrushing. Some of the terminations are thin blades, so I was very careful.

[Denise]

You would really love a textile gun, especially for cleaning Goethites! You have some great looking Goethite on your claim. Nice big thick pieces!
We sill have several we need to clean yet, one is a broken piece of Quartz with the whole side covered in Goethite.

[MikeS]

You would really love a textile gun, especially for cleaning Goethites! You have some great looking Goethite on your claim. Nice big thick pieces!
We sill have several we need to clean yet, one is a broken piece of Quartz with the whole side covered in Goethite.

After looking at some textile guns online yesterday, I found that they are more affordable than I thought. I also assumed they would need a compressor or something but if you can just plug into an outlet, then this would be perfect for me. It should help a bunch with the more complex Fluorites as well. Do you have a brand you recommend? Or a brand you recommend avoiding? I was looking at one made by Arrow with an adjustable nozzle.

[Woody]

She's right Mike.

Once you get a textile gun you'll be gald you did. There is a small learning curve that goes into it but don't worry. You hit your hand once or twice...... you'll learn. If you are needing one anytime soon, let me know. I'll let you borrow mine. Woody.

[Denise]

The one we have is an Red Arrow YH-170 cleaning gun with the adjustable nozzle and works great. With lots of use, you may just need to replace the spring in the nozzle but not hard to do. You can even take clay filled specimens from the pockets and more gently with the gun wash away the clay revealing the even smaller goodies that get rubbed off lots of times in the field with excitement. Is a total rush watching the piece slowly reveal itself and what little combo pieces pop in on or with it!! You will love a cleaning gun, can even put warm soapy water in it for cleaning.

Too funny Woody but true, almost feels like it will rip away skin if too close. Perfect for rock gunk removal and even goes in those hard to get crevices though. Once you get use to the force the gun has, you can even regulate how far from the piece to hold the gun by testing with your hand.

Hopefully you are out finding more of those spectacular Goethite specimens Mike!

[MikeS]

Hopefully you are out finding more of those spectacular Goethite specimens Mike!

I didn't get any Geothite this weekend. I picked at that spot a little and found one tiny pocket of smokies. All but one were broken. However I did have the pleasure of meeting Woody. Which is better than finding Goethite. We have a lot of interests in common other than gold and minerals. Conversation with him was my big score for the weekend.

[Woody]

Thanks for the warm welcome at your claim,

Spent a great day hanging out with you guys and got to see some new land. I had not been in that part of the country before. It wasn't a bust by no means and your partner did find a few small sprays of Goethite. That area of your has massive potiential. I can't wait tom hear what you find next. Let me know when you guys are able to get to my neck of the woods and we'll give it a go on this end. Have a good one, Woody.

[Denise]

That's great that you guys got to meet up! I find most that frequent these forums love to multitask with different interests. I hope to get the chance to meet you both some day also, would be a great time.

[Crusty]

She's right Mike.

Once you get a textile gun you'll be gald you did. There is a small learning curve that goes into it but don't worry. You hit your hand once or twice...... you'll learn. If you are needing one anytime soon, let me know. I'll let you borrow mine. Woody.

I'll second that! They are great, but will definitely light you up if you're too close, even with heavy rubber gloves on! Not sure what brand mine is; I just got it off ebay.

[MikeS]

Yesterday I picked up a few friends to join me for my first trip to the claim this season. Although it was overcast most the day it was a perfect day to mine some amazing Goethite, Quartz and Fluorite!
































After taking pictures and removing some overburden I found a fist size goethite, but it was heavily eroded.





I did come away with a quality piece of Goethite by the end of the day. What a great start to the season!

[NewRockHounder]

Dammmmmmn! Those are sweet. Great finds.

Thanks also (maybe) for making me jones more so than I already was.

Colin

[Denise]

Those are amazing Goethite finds Mike, some of the best I have seen in Colorado here!!
Seeing them in their natural form all dirty and root filled like that is very exciting and gets the prospector's blood pumping. Fantastic way to start your season.

Those are some prime specimens and will clean up nicely, especially with the pressure gun.
Thanks for sharing the pictures with us and keep up the good work, it sure is paying off!

[swizz]

Yowsa! Nice stuff!

[Crusty]

Wow, those cleaned up nice!

[MikeS]

Those are some prime specimens and will clean up nicely, especially with the pressure gun.

I bought a couple of pump sprayers from the hardware store and they work great in the field and at home. I have not pulled out the textile gun yet but I will.