Post by noodle on Feb 26, 2024 21:55:10 GMT -5
Hi everyone! My name is Nadia and I'm new(ish) to rockhounding. I grew up on the shores of Long Island, so I've been collecting little treasures from the beach and skipping rocks on the bay since childhood. In addition to the little shells and seaglass I took home, I've always kept the special rocks I find on my skipping-rock searches; too beautiful and unique to throw back into the water. I've never really thought about making them look wet and shiny since this past week, when I spent some time on the PNW.
I was blown away by what I saw in Washington and Oregon--I'd been to California but this was something else. The highlight of our trip was hunting for agate and jasper on the beaches of Oceanside, OR. You're allowed to take home a gallon of stones a day, so we brought back our comparatively meager collection. It was such a special day, and I really want to preserve them and make them shine so we can see them day by day and think of our trip. I've been reading through the forums, but I'm still a bit confused about where to start. Does anyone have any insight to impart?
Some info: I'm not in the place where I can spend $500+ on a lap so I'm looking to do it by hand (also not sure if I need one for my purposes?). Also trying to avoid getting a tumbler.
One of my goals is to get my LI rocks to a place where they have that "wet" look to them. I have sooo many and don't have the time to sand and polish them all, so could soaking them in some type of oil or resin suffice? I really just want to bring back the look that first caught my eye when I found them on the shore.
My other goal is specifically for the agate and jasper we found on the beach. I'd love to bring out the light orange/yellow translucence of the agate and the greens and blues of the jasper--to my knowledge, that will involve some combination of cleaning, sanding, and oiling, correct? What would happen if I didn't sand? If sanding is a must-do, what's the best way of going about that? What bare minimum products do I need? Equipment? I'm not too afraid to try, but I am definitely a little overwhelmed...
Thank you so much in advance for your kindness and for sharing your expertise!! I'm so excited to learn more about rockhounding
I was blown away by what I saw in Washington and Oregon--I'd been to California but this was something else. The highlight of our trip was hunting for agate and jasper on the beaches of Oceanside, OR. You're allowed to take home a gallon of stones a day, so we brought back our comparatively meager collection. It was such a special day, and I really want to preserve them and make them shine so we can see them day by day and think of our trip. I've been reading through the forums, but I'm still a bit confused about where to start. Does anyone have any insight to impart?
Some info: I'm not in the place where I can spend $500+ on a lap so I'm looking to do it by hand (also not sure if I need one for my purposes?). Also trying to avoid getting a tumbler.
One of my goals is to get my LI rocks to a place where they have that "wet" look to them. I have sooo many and don't have the time to sand and polish them all, so could soaking them in some type of oil or resin suffice? I really just want to bring back the look that first caught my eye when I found them on the shore.
My other goal is specifically for the agate and jasper we found on the beach. I'd love to bring out the light orange/yellow translucence of the agate and the greens and blues of the jasper--to my knowledge, that will involve some combination of cleaning, sanding, and oiling, correct? What would happen if I didn't sand? If sanding is a must-do, what's the best way of going about that? What bare minimum products do I need? Equipment? I'm not too afraid to try, but I am definitely a little overwhelmed...
Thank you so much in advance for your kindness and for sharing your expertise!! I'm so excited to learn more about rockhounding