Originally posted by Mike Coleman
Mike,
Yes, Baruim was found in RK paint, mainly in the greater quantities with the Rounder paint. It was looked at isolated, i.e. just Barium in it's elemental form and deemed a poison (which it is) and it was therefore strongly suggested that the cross is a fake - along the line "Barium = poinson = not good = fake".
What was not looked at is that Barium cannot exist in it's pure form without 'exploding' when in contact to oxigen and even for the biggest critics it should be clear that a Rounder does not explode on air contact.
Further investigation ( I'm still working on a Rounder article...) showed that the most common form of natural Barium is Baryt (BaSO4) which is used since centuries as a paint filler and that in Germany literally hundreds of Baryt mines exist since hundred of years as a strong local source of income. The composition of the Rounder paint with S and BA is therefore a clear indication of Baryt.
Why am I posting this here?
It is very easy to say something wrong and it sticks and grows thru the internet like a virus worm. If this analysis would have be done on a Rounder and not on a K&Q with expertise from Detlev, you can be sure that the mentioning of something like "Dioctyl Sebacate" which it's (todays) use is as a plasticizer for plastic and polymeres would be a 100%, slam dunk, no questions asked, over, never to be discussed again indication for the Rounder being a production of the early 80's (since this was the point in time it was seen by some the first time). As was the Silicium and the Barium...
New technical methods like SEM and FTIR do give unemotional results, the interpretation is in the heads of the people and should be done without agenda, un-biased and -most importantly - correct!
Dietrich
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