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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 7, 2012 21:40:37 GMT -5
My first batch of rocks is going to be done in two days, but I'm not sure what to do about washing after polishing. I'm finishing the rocks in my brand spankin' new Lot-O. I'm doing some granite that I picked up on the beach. I've read about undercutting and I think I know what this is now. I just pulled out a rock and it was getting very shiny, but had little tiny holes in it. I'm roughly following the recipe posted by Jack on this page: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=tottumb&action=display&thread=29369&page=4I'm planning to use my AO polish from the rock shed and save my TO and CO for some better rocks. I'm not sure whether to use 1/2 tsp or a full tsp though. At the end of that post Jack recommends hand washing for fear of forgetting the rocks and ruining them. However, I'm afraid that all the little holes will be full of polish and turn out white. I did the first two stages in a rotary tumbler and was following the recipe by Rollingstone on this page: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=trtphoto&action=display&thread=22055&page=4He recommends washing with Ivory soap before the rocks dry out to avoid polish in the holes. I'm debating between these three choices: 1.) Hand wash in warm water 2.) Wash for 6 hours with Ivory soap and plastic pellets in my rotary tumbler. 3.) Wash for 20 minutes (set timer) with Ivory soap in my Lot-O. Any advice?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,461
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 7, 2012 21:56:10 GMT -5
Go with the wash. I sometimes leave mine in overnight but 2-4 hours is fine. If you don't, you'll find a lot of polish powder lodged in the pits or cracks if you have any and sometimes even a fine haze of powder on smooth stones. Just finished some obsidian and I wasn't gonna wash them until I noticed there was a fine white residue on a lot of stones even after rinsing. Couple of hours in Dreft and they were totally clean.....Mel
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 7, 2012 22:01:44 GMT -5
Mel, should I wash in the vibe or the rotary? I have Ivory and Borax, but I could pick up some Dreft. Is one better than another? I've seen all three recommended.
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Post by jakesrocks on Feb 7, 2012 22:14:27 GMT -5
I use Borax in a rotary, but any of the 3 would work. Don
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,461
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Post by Sabre52 on Feb 7, 2012 23:35:52 GMT -5
juggler: I only wash after the final polish which I do in the vibe but I'd wash after polish in a rotary too. I've only used Dreft soap or borax but the borax water is extremely toxic to all plants so disposal can be a problem. that's why I use d the Dreft soap
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 8, 2012 13:35:40 GMT -5
Thanks Mel. I love gardening, so I'm being extremely careful using Borax. I don't like having to dump that stuff, so I might switch to Dreft if it does the same thing.
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Post by helens on Feb 8, 2012 15:48:38 GMT -5
As recommended by Johnsgems, I used some dishwasher detergent in my Lot-O... liquid Cascade All-In-One specificially... and it left PRECIOUS OPALS that were HYDROPHANE spotless... did not absorb any chemicals, and I could hand rinse everything off easily. I don't think another stone exists that is as absorptive as hydrophane welo opals... if it didn't mess them up, I can't see how it would mess granite up.
I'd throw a tsp of Cascade in there at the last burnish, it made my opals and glass rinse off just from swishing. BUT, I'm running my 2nd load, which is agates, jasper, some petrified wood, so if you want to wait a week, I can tell you how dishdetergent works on the harder stones, because I'm running it in every single grit change (with the borax too, because we have hard water here).
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