[meteorite-list] Widmanstattan pattern

[wrecks463]

Hello People,     I have a few questions on etching meteorites.      Is there a temperature at which the Widmanstattan pattern is ruined?  If it turns blue does this mean its pretty much over?    How important is the finish? I've sanded down to a 600 grit. Is this enough,or should I polish it to a high luster? I dont have any lapidary equiptment and sanding disks only go down to 80 grit.   How precise does the acid/alcohol ratio have to be? I've tried to match the instructions in Mr. Nortons book,but am not satisfied with the results. Ive also tried using ferric chloride but it seems worse. I've tried starting out with the nitric acid/alcohol mixture and finishing up with the ferric chloride and vica versa. Using the ferric chloride as the latter makes the pattern jump out but then disappears behind a haze of oxidation. All of the systems I try end up with a dark haze of oxide that ruins everything. Can anybody help me out here? This is all from a 30 pound Campo that I sliced down to a 20 pounder. Could these problems be just because it is a Campo? There never was much rust on it to begin with,so I dont know. Although the 20 pounder makes a great door stop I need to figure out what to do with these slices.My way isn't working.   Any helpfull tips would be greatly appreicieated.         Thanks in advance,                       Rex