# Will HCl/bleach strip fingers off the board?



## zamistro (Dec 7, 2009)

Is it nescessary to use AP to strip finger foils from the board? If the foils are going to be dissolved in HCl/bleach anyway why not start with that?


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## glorycloud (Dec 7, 2009)

If your goal is 24K refined gold, then you will want to use the AP to "free" the
gold foils from the finger boards as the AP dissolves the copper holding the
foils on the boards. HCL / bleach will indeed dissolve the gold but it will also 
dissolve some other base metals and that is not the idea.

Cutting corners in gold refining will normally end in posting your situation in the
"Help Needed" part of the forum. Really - watch Steve's video, buy his processing
DVD and follow it to the T. 8)


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## Anonymous (Dec 7, 2009)

The AP makes less fumes and target the copper. Also when you have just foils, you will need a much smaller container and way less acid and bleach.

Heres another thing, when using a chemcial(s) that dissolve gold and base metals you get a cycle the gold dissolve and uses chemicals exposing the copper, then the copper replaces the gold, then the gold dissovles again, then etc. You can see this will take more chemicals and results in tiny gold specs that are hard to filter, and in case you can't tell, I tried it.

Jim


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## gorfman6154 (Dec 7, 2009)

Zamistro, everything that james122969, and Glorycloud is true. The AP proccess is geared toward the hobbyist, providing a mixture that can be used for many batches of fingers, cutting down on wasted chemicals. It's gives off low amounts of gases, so it can be used, where Nitric or AR cannot. When you have your clean foils, then use HCL/CLto dissolve them, using only enough to do the job, hence, less wasted chemicals, and $$ saved 8) and not wasted.

You can use HCL/CL to remove the gold, but you end up with dirty Gold powder. Which will require you to re-refine your powders, wasting more chemicals and $$  .

Hope this clears things up for you, Gorfman


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## zamistro (Dec 7, 2009)

glorycloud said:


> If your goal is 24K refined gold, then you will want to use the AP to "free" the
> gold foils from the finger boards as the AP dissolves the copper holding the
> foils on the boards. HCL / bleach will indeed dissolve the gold but it will also
> dissolve some other base metals and that is not the idea.
> ...




So, SMB will drop copper along with the gold?


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## butcher (Dec 8, 2009)

yes sodium meta bisulfite can precipitate copper also , and also in a dirty solution gold and base metals like copper can combine as the crystals form and precipitate together dragdown. or the base metals in solution can become gold plated and keep some gold in solution,concentration and temperature can also play a part here.

if you are around long, you will see that getting rid of base metals, before going after the gold, is the only way to insure success, especially working with such small amounts the losses really add up if we don't follow the tried and true methods, 

we could get there by taking shortcuts but we also will be loosing our gold on the trail on the way to there, or if we follow the road maps prepared for us, we will most likely get there sooner, easier, and with all our gold.


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