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Post by linda9241gardening on Jan 9, 2012 10:56:20 GMT -5
I am very new to tumbling. My husband got me a small tumbler for my birthday. I have finished with my first batch of small rocks. There is a white residue in any cracks that remained that I cannot remove. How do I get the stuff off. It is from the polishing powder.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 9, 2012 11:30:51 GMT -5
Linda, you could try putting your rocks back in the tumbler with borax and water, and let them tumble for a few hours. Be sure to use plastic pellets to cushion your rocks.
I'll bet you allowed your rocks to dry after taking them out of polish. Never do this. After you rinse your rocks, put them in clean water. Clean your tumbler barrel and put the rocks back in with borax and water. This is called the burnishing stage. It will remove any left over polish, and will improve the shine.
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Post by linda9241gardening on Jan 9, 2012 12:24:14 GMT -5
Thank you. That part of the process the instruction book that came with the tumbler did not tell me. They think I should naturally know that. I know nothing about tumbling. I love rocks and have been picking them up all my life.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 9, 2012 12:51:24 GMT -5
The burnishing process is something that most of us have learned through years of tumbling. The books that come with tumblers tell you very little about the hobby. If you have questions about tumbling, or rocks in general, feel free to ask. There are many on here with much more experience tumbling than I have. They'll be happy to help you in any way they can. Don
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Post by linda9241gardening on Jan 9, 2012 13:49:44 GMT -5
Thanks, I'm sure I will have a lot of questions.
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emyhro4048
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2007
Posts: 396
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Post by emyhro4048 on Jan 11, 2012 17:43:16 GMT -5
After I asked the same question when I first started to tumble rocks, I did the burnishing step and was very pleased. Borax is great. You can get it at most grocery stores with no problem. Good luck. You will find way's you like as you go. A good book dedicated to this subject is Modern Rock Tumbling by Steve Hart. I got mine on Amazon I think or you could just Google it. Anyhoo, Just have fun, that's what it is about.
Ed M.
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Post by rocklicker on Jan 11, 2012 20:04:21 GMT -5
Other things that work for burnishing are ivory soap, just carve it off from the bar, and Dreft. Borax will kill plants if dumped in your garden. I am not sure about the ivory soap but Dreft is pretty gentile.
Ed, I got that same book. It's full of great information. Steve
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jan 12, 2012 6:08:49 GMT -5
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