oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,540
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Aug 26, 2019 19:10:51 GMT -5
Can someone tell me what recipe is for burnishing in lot o?
Specifically, do you use same amt of water as other lot o stages or do you use more? If more- how much? Amt of borax to use and for how long do you let it run for?
I know I've read it here somewhere but can only seem to find generalities vs exact amts. Thanks in advance for the help!
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Post by aDave on Aug 26, 2019 19:30:50 GMT -5
When I've chosen to burnish solely with Borax, the stage is started like all others - water drained. I'll then start the machine and add a bunch of squirts from a bottle to overly soak the rocks. I then add the Borax.
I really don't know how exact this needs to be. I've seen mentions of a "capful of water" (Lot-O cap) and 1/4 cup of water. At the end of the day, I'm thinking this is not too exact a science. FWIW, I'm just looking for material to be fairly wetted with the Borax then added.
If you go this route, things will move slowly, since you're adding more water than what is called for. With my last few batches, I've disregarded the final Borax burnish as I added soap at the end of the polish stage to help with the cleanout. If I go this route, I add some squirts of water, a squirt of handsoap or Dawn, and let the stuff go for an hour. Yeah, it doesn't move much, but as long as there is some movement, that's OK.
Oh yeah, if you are simply looking for how much Borax, I'm typically using 2 TSP (teaspoons). That's just me and how it's worked out.
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oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,540
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Aug 26, 2019 22:13:02 GMT -5
When I've chosen to burnish solely with Borax, the stage is started like all others - water drained. I'll then start the machine and add a bunch of squirts from a bottle to overly soak the rocks. I then add the Borax. I really don't know how exact this needs to be. I've seen mentions of a "capful of water" (Lot-O cap) and 1/4 cup of water. At the end of the day, I'm thinking this is not too exact a science. FWIW, I'm just looking for material to be fairly wetted with the Borax then added. If you go this route, things will move slowly, since you're adding more water than what is called for. With my last few batches, I've disregarded the final Borax burnish as I added soap at the end of the polish stage to help with the cleanout. If I go this route, I add some squirts of water, a squirt of handsoap or Dawn, and let the stuff go for an hour. Yeah, it doesn't move much, but as long as there is some movement, that's OK. Oh yeah, if you are simply looking for how much Borax, I'm typically using 2 TSP (teaspoons). That's just me and how it's worked out. Thanks adave! That just the info I was after. Much appreciated!
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Post by TheRock on Aug 27, 2019 7:52:19 GMT -5
Ill add a little to ADaves Recipe, When I burnish I start from a fresh wash out. Fill w/ water and drain as per dave I then add a tbl spoon of borax and a tbl spoon of Ivory bar soap flakes. Sprits the LotO with several squirts/sprays of water then run for 2 to 6 hrs then wash out.
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Post by aDave on Aug 27, 2019 13:36:04 GMT -5
Ill add a little to ADaves Recipe, When I burnish I start from a fresh wash out. Fill w/ water and drain as per dave I then add a tbl spoon of borax and a tbl spoon of Ivory bar soap flakes. Sprits the LotO with several squirts/sprays of water then run for 2 to 6 hrs then wash out. Hey Bob, I've usually seen it mentioned that you could use Borax OR Ivory soap flakes to burnish. Just curious as to why you're running the two together. Not saying it's wrong or anything, I'm just wondering if you've seen a difference in running the two together as opposed using one or the other alone. Thanks.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Aug 27, 2019 15:12:41 GMT -5
Question.......given the aggressive nature of the Lot-O's "tumbling", and the fact that "burnishing" does not add a deeper luster to the polished material, but does aid in clean-up and over all surface "buffing".........wouldn't it be more advantageous to vibe the poilshed material in a dry media like walnut shells, Borax, salt or sugar (if vibe is available to the user), instead of essentially re-polishing (if all added media like ceramics, are not removed), in a more forgiving wet clean-up material like Borax and or Ivory....? Borax (wet) will start out with a salt like texture for the first 45 to 60mins or so, but breaks down rapidly (especially) in a Lot-O.......!
I don't own a Lot-O, but have buddies that do.......none of them "burnish" anything in it........they save that step for vibes, as I do, with dry media like suggested previously........After all, we are "burnishing"......not adding another polishing/cleaning stage to the process.
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 27, 2019 15:50:42 GMT -5
Ill add a little to ADaves Recipe, When I burnish I start from a fresh wash out. Fill w/ water and drain as per dave I then add a tbl spoon of borax and a tbl spoon of Ivory bar soap flakes. Sprits the LotO with several squirts/sprays of water then run for 2 to 6 hrs then wash out. Hey Bob, I've usually seen it mentioned that you could use Borax OR Ivory soap flakes to burnish. Just curious as to why you're running the two together. Not saying it's wrong or anything, I'm just wondering if you've seen a difference in running the two together as opposed using one or the other alone. Thanks. I don't have a Lotto, but do have a Mini-Sonic, a UV-18 an old Rockette. I use Ivory Soap shavings and Borax together. The Borax is a detergent enhancer which breaks down the surface tension and lets the soap work better. In contrast to what Bob said, I put in enough water to just cover the rocks then add Soap and Borax and then let them run for 8 to 10 hours. The Rockette is a heavy duty beast, but it is faster by 30 to 40%.
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Post by TheRock on Aug 27, 2019 16:06:38 GMT -5
Ill add a little to ADaves Recipe, When I burnish I start from a fresh wash out. Fill w/ water and drain as per dave I then add a tbl spoon of borax and a tbl spoon of Ivory bar soap flakes. Sprits the LotO with several squirts/sprays of water then run for 2 to 6 hrs then wash out. Hey Bob, I've usually seen it mentioned that you could use Borax OR Ivory soap flakes to burnish. Just curious as to why you're running the two together. Not saying it's wrong or anything, I'm just wondering if you've seen a difference in running the two together as opposed using one or the other alone. Thanks. Dave, It has been my experience that The Ivory Seems to make the rocks and the media more slippery and in my opinion and tests cleaner. I Think the Ivory gives the burnishing more of a cushion Ivory also gives another benefit of cleaning. Oh one thing I forgot to add, it helps to rinse stones in HOT WATER preventing water spots and it rinse cleans better. Also being it's a Burnishing Stage no harm should come to your sink drains as any debris should be non existent. Now I will add this thought, I don't always burnish only if I have some stones with polish in the cracks and feel they need that little extra TLC.
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Post by TheRock on Aug 27, 2019 16:08:41 GMT -5
Yeah what Hank Said! Im not very fast guess I'm a two peckered billy goat. I don't type I Peck.
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oldschoolrocker
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,540
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Post by oldschoolrocker on Sept 6, 2019 1:29:53 GMT -5
Thanks guys for the advice! Very much aappreciated!
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Post by greig on Sept 6, 2019 8:39:57 GMT -5
I just learned something. I never thought about rinsing with hot water to avoid water spots. It makes sense. Thanks
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Post by grumpybill on Sept 6, 2019 13:56:46 GMT -5
Without getting into the semantics of "burnishing", I clean my stones by filling the Lot-O bowl with water and adding a drop or two of Dawn, then letting it run another 20 - 30 minutes. From there I dump the stones into a colander and rinsing them well.
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Post by TheRock on Sept 6, 2019 16:25:53 GMT -5
Without getting into the semantics of "burnishing", I clean my stones by filling the Lot-O bowl with water and adding a drop or two of Dawn, then letting it run another 20 - 30 minutes. From there I dump the stones into a colander and rinsing them well. Me too! It helps when They have been running 3 days The Action Gets S L O W due to the Buildup of Clay. Loosens things up on the wash outs. To start I usually Add 3/4 Tablespoon of Borax and 1/2 Teaspoon of grit in the 3 stage Process 220, 500, Then Polish In The Lot"O" and after 3 to 4 days the action comes to a Grinding Hault. The UV-10 and the UV-18 is a lot less finicky I can run those things a couple weeks with the same ratio of borax and Grit, and they don't make near as much racket. I get a better shine too because I can add more ceramics so the rocks don't come in contact w/ each other. Just my two cents worth.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Sept 6, 2019 22:41:17 GMT -5
Without getting into the semantics of "burnishing", I clean my stones by filling the Lot-O bowl with water and adding a drop or two of Dawn, then letting it run another 20 - 30 minutes. From there I dump the stones into a colander and rinsing them well. Me too! It helps when They have been running 3 days The Action Gets S L O W due to the Buildup of Clay. Loosens things up on the wash outs. To start I usually Add 3/4 Tablespoon of Borax and 1/2 Teaspoon of grit in the 3 stage Process 220, 500, Then Polish In The Lot"O" and after 3 to 4 days the action comes to a Grinding Hault. *The UV-10 and the UV-18 is a lot less finicky I can run those things a couple weeks with the same ratio of borax and Grit, and they don't make near as much racket. I get a better shine too because I can add more ceramics so the rocks don't come in contact w/ each other. Just my two cents worth. * Thanks for "kinda" answering my previous question.......Kinda......lol
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Post by grumpybill on Sept 8, 2019 6:18:31 GMT -5
I get a better shine too because I can add more ceramics so the rocks don't come in contact w/ each other. Just my two cents worth. Excuse me for being a semantics nazi, but... If the goal is to burnish the stones, I would think you'd want the stones to rub against each other.
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Post by TheRock on Sept 8, 2019 14:02:18 GMT -5
I get a better shine too because I can add more ceramics so the rocks don't come in contact w/ each other. Just my two cents worth. Excuse me for being a semantics nazi, but... If the goal is to burnish the stones, I would think you'd want the stones to rub against each other. You said it, Rub is one thing, crashing and Bruising is another. I was referring to the larger size of the UV-10 as compared to the LOT"O" the UV-10 is WAY BIGGER and holds more ceramics to cushion the stones but also provide rubbing action against the ceramics. This provides a better polish.
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