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Post by HankRocks on Nov 21, 2016 11:24:06 GMT -5
Question for the Panel; Does anyone favor or ignore washing(burnishing) after final polish stage? I have have always run my rotary load for 8-10 hours in ivory soap and water in the rotary. I am not sure how to do that for the Vibrating Tumbler. Do I fill the Vibrating barrel with water to cover the rocks, how do I reduce any damage to the finished product?
Thanks for any responses.
H
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,182
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Post by jamesp on Nov 21, 2016 11:33:40 GMT -5
I fill my hopper while rocks have polish with water and add a teaspoon of dishwashing soap and let it run for 10 minutes. Then do a clean out and do it again(full of water with soap) for 10-20 minutes. Sometimes a third time.
Don't think you will damage the rocks when the rocks are covered with water.
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gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,816
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Post by gemfeller on Nov 21, 2016 12:04:19 GMT -5
I'm not the tumbling expert that others here are but I have some experience. I use a Minisonic and when I'm ready to do a clean-out I add a small amount of water, a small amount of Mr. Clean liquid and an ounce or so of grocery store sudsy ammonia. I let it run for half an hour or so to loosen all the mud and grit, then rinse the contents carefully in warm water after the sludge is drained. I put the stones back in the washed-out barrel, add another bit of Mr. Clean and run another half hour or so followed by another warm water wash. The stones come out glistening with no residue.
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Nov 21, 2016 13:41:26 GMT -5
I clean my Lot-O out after final polish and rinse everything off. Add everything back to the Lot-O with 2 tablespoons of Borax and a capful of water. I let this run 4-5 hours. I haven't seen this cause any damage.
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Post by captbob on Nov 21, 2016 15:03:50 GMT -5
Question for the Panel; Does anyone favor or ignore washing(burnishing) after final polish stage? Disclaimer: I'm a rotary guy. I usually do the burnish step after polish, but I'm not sure why. Habit I guess. On every load, a pull a couple rocks out after polish and leave out of the burnish run. I have yet to see an appreciable difference between the rocks that get run through a burnish cycle and those that were pulled aside. Try this (pull a few rocks) when you finish a polish cycle and see if the burnish seems to make a difference for you.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Nov 21, 2016 15:07:33 GMT -5
Question for the Panel; Does anyone favor or ignore washing(burnishing) after final polish stage? Disclaimer: I'm a rotary guy. I usually do the burnish step after polish, but I'm not sure why. Habit I guess. On every load, a pull a couple rocks out after polish and leave out of the burnish run. I have yet to see an appreciable difference between the rocks that get run through a burnish cycle and those that were pulled aside. Try this (pull a few rocks) when you finish a polish cycle and see if the burnish seems to make a difference for you. This has been exactly my experience so far, also 100% rotary.
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Post by wigglinrocks on Nov 22, 2016 0:29:54 GMT -5
In the Gy-Roc model A , at the end of the polish stage I add a squirt of Dawn dish soap and a couple cups of water . Run that for 10 or so minutes , dump and rinse real well , reload rocks in bowl with 3-4 cups of water and 1 tbs borax and run for 1/2 hour or so to wash , dump and rinse real well again . Then I do a burnish run with 1 cup water and 2 tbs borax and let em wiggle for 3 hours , dump and rinse again . If the water is cloudy , which is most times , I load them back up with 3-4 cups water and run again for 10-15 minutes , dump and rinse again . The water usually comes out clear by then . Are my methods right or wrong I don't know . But it seems to me the burnish must do something right if the water comes out cloudy after the burnish . Noticeable difference in the rocks ? Sometimes I think yes , sometimes no . Try the burnish and try without . What it comes down to is , you are who you are trying to please . When I started tumbling ,I was happy with the shiny rocks that came out . But after seeing the veterans pics on here I knew I had a lot to learn . I don't try out do someone else , I try to out do what I did last time .
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dottyt
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2016
Posts: 305
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Post by dottyt on Nov 22, 2016 1:38:42 GMT -5
Disclaimer: I'm a rotary guy. I usually do the burnish step after polish, but I'm not sure why. Habit I guess. On every load, a pull a couple rocks out after polish and leave out of the burnish run. I have yet to see an appreciable difference between the rocks that get run through a burnish cycle and those that were pulled aside. Try this (pull a few rocks) when you finish a polish cycle and see if the burnish seems to make a difference for you. This has been exactly my experience so far, also 100% rotary. Me three. I bought some borax, but found it didn't really clean the rocks and any better and stopped using it. I am rotary only too. I was hot to get a Lot-O, but I have had Stage 1 going for over 7 days without a clean out and new grit several times due to a busy schedule. So now I am wondering how I could possibly check a vibe every 12 hours....
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