teezyscott
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2023
Posts: 2
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Post by teezyscott on May 11, 2023 18:15:55 GMT -5
OK, so I have been having an issue with a few of my tumbles. First of all I'm still new and learning about all things lapidary, but with some of my agates I have tiny fractures that I can't every seem to get rid of in the first stage so I end up moving on. Or I really like the pattern that I have and I'm afraid of tumbling too much of it away. Then by the time I get to polishing stage I get the white build up in all the cracks of my tumbles. I've tried burnishing, scrubbing with a toothbrush, but still seemed not to be able to get it all out.
So my question is, would a pressure washer be able too? Would that remove the polish of the stone? Anyone with experience with this?
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Post by jasoninsd on May 11, 2023 18:33:46 GMT -5
A power wash wouldn't remove the polish...because it's not a "wax" finish. A lot of people use a dental water pik with great results. Welcome to the forum!
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teezyscott
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2023
Posts: 2
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Post by teezyscott on May 11, 2023 18:58:26 GMT -5
A power wash wouldn't remove the polish...because it's not a "wax" finish. A lot of people use a dental water pik with great results. Welcome to the forum! So it wouldn't damage it either? I have a dental pick but it doesn't have quite enough umpff and my wife dislikes the mess I make with it in the bathroom. Haha
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Post by jasoninsd on May 11, 2023 19:06:04 GMT -5
A power wash wouldn't remove the polish...because it's not a "wax" finish. A lot of people use a dental water pik with great results. Welcome to the forum! So it wouldn't damage it either? I have a dental pick but it doesn't have quite enough umpff and my wife dislikes the mess I make with it in the bathroom. Haha My wife doesn't like the mess I make in the bathroom either...but I'm not going into detail about that! LOL No...a pressure washer won't negatively affect the rock...unless you blast it out of your hand and it goes flying across the concrete!
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 2,498
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Post by rockbrain on May 11, 2023 21:08:38 GMT -5
A pressure washer will negatively affect your hand!
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rockbrain
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2022
Posts: 2,498
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Post by rockbrain on May 11, 2023 21:10:02 GMT -5
I haven't tried it yet, but someone posted on here the other day that rubbing with melamine foam will remove the polish from cracks. Melamine foam is the generic much cheaper version of Magic Eraser.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 12, 2023 8:22:51 GMT -5
What kind of polish are you using ? Cerium Oxide is very hard to remove from cracks .
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,978
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Post by victor1941 on May 12, 2023 20:37:00 GMT -5
Try a vibrator cleaner that is used for jewelry.
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markymark
Cave Dweller
Member since November 2015
Posts: 349
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Post by markymark on May 12, 2023 22:43:58 GMT -5
Best thing to use is a textile spotting gun , you can get them on ebay and Amazon, they are extremely powerful, use gloves and they will blast pretty much everything out of those cracks
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dug
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2022
Posts: 21
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Post by dug on May 22, 2023 12:39:02 GMT -5
I'm with markymark -- I use a textile gun on any remaining crack or pit. It does a fantastic job, even if I make the mistake of letting the rock dry with polish still embedded in it.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2023 13:21:45 GMT -5
I have a little hand held steam cleaner that's been working well in getting dried clay out of cracks and voids. So far no negative effects on druzy or small crystals at all.
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Post by Mel on May 24, 2023 14:37:43 GMT -5
Normally I would say a metal dental pick and water. Since you've already tried that, I'd suggest an ultrasonic cleaner between stages to clean out the cracks. Or just learn to love cracks. I mean, you've already done in weeks what takes Mother Nature decades to do, that's pretty impressive in it's own right.
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