6. Resolved?

The response I got from posting the images on Coast to Coast am's website was unexpected and a bit overwhelming. The idea that I might have stumbled into a "pet rock"-like opportunity propelled me into a whirlwind of activity.

At that point I was getting closer and closer to what could be called a Roswell Rock replica. Along the way it had evolved from simple sandblasting into so much more. Eventually I was even taking larger stones and cutting them into smaller pieces, then grinding and polishing them down to the right shape and size.

As far as making a true replica, there was still one issue nagging at me. You see - When the design is applied and the surrounding area is blasted away, the new surface is fresh looking, while the protected area of the design still has its aged and natural look. There is, of course, dramatic contrast between the two, much like what can be seen with this yin-yang (which you can click on for a larger view). The rock found by Robert Ridge, although obviously sandblasted, does not have that fresh and very contrasted look about it. There is no color difference and the sandblasted part has a peculiar shininess to it. I think it was this unnatural shine on such an obviously textured surface that caused people to be so quick to label it as being fake somehow, even though they often couldn't quite articulate what it was about it that bothered them so much. Sometimes they said it looked plastic, or painted.

At first, the only way I was able to somewhat get rid of the freshly sandblasted appearance was to rub it with mineral oil. It worked pretty well for the color contrast, but it also looked, well...."oiled". Some of the rocks also soaked the oil in so much that the color contrast came right back.

One day I was pondering the problem, when suddenly I remembered reading somewhere that when the Roswell Rock was found, it was caked with dirt, and that Silly Putty was used to clean it. Hmmmm

The closest thing I had on hand was modeling clay. It worked quite well. With a combination of dabbing it with the clay and buffing it with a brush, I was able to give it that shinier, more unified looking finish. A few days later I actually bought some silly putty and found that it worked even better.

(Continued with - 7. Crashing Symbols)