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Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
Thanks! I still need to get the hard water crud off them. I need to start keeping rocks in distilled water. Our tap has so much calcium and crud it literally covers the rock after an hour.
We have fairly hard water too. Something I found to be really helpful is to hand dry them after cleaning them. I extend my "do not let them dry out" stage until literally everything is done. I keep them in a bowl of water between stages, after polish I clean them. I have been using a cheap ultra sonic cleaner instead of running a "burnish" stage, which is actually not a burnish but really just a wash. I don't really know why everyone calls it that. The ultrasonic works really well for anything that has fractures. Here's a time-lapse of cleaning some quartz that I collected from Hogg Mine.
Here's an after picture after I tumbled some green Tree Moss agate. If I had any idea the water would turn so dirty I would have made a time lapse of this one.
After the ultrasonic cleaning they get dumped onto a towel and I use a microfiber cloth to hand dry each one.
We have fairly hard water too. Something I found to be really helpful is to hand dry them after cleaning them. I extend my "do not let them dry out" stage until literally everything is done. I keep them in a bowl of water between stages, after polish I clean them. I have been using a cheap ultra sonic cleaner instead of running a "burnish" stage, which is actually not a burnish but really just a wash. I don't really know why everyone calls it that. The ultrasonic works really well for anything that has fractures. Here's a time-lapse of cleaning some quartz that I collected from Hogg Mine.
Here's an after picture after I tumbled some green Tree Moss agate. If I had any idea the water would turn so dirty I would have made a time lapse of this one.
After the ultrasonic cleaning they get dumped onto a towel and I use a microfiber cloth to hand dry each one.
Nice system! I need to get a bigger ultrasonic cleaner. Mine is like pebble size. Normally I only keep them in water between stages, but I was feeling so bad that day I couldn’t clean them up like I normally do, with an electric toothbrush and small pick. I ended up cleaning each rock with windex and a micro fiber towel lol.
I’ve heard they call it burnishing because boron is 9.3 on the mohs. So when using borax it’s supposed to bring out a deeper shine. There’s something about the sliding action of rock on rock that helps also. I can’t tell the difference though, but have never compared under a microscope. When I ‘clean’ the rocks I just use dawn dish soap.
We have fairly hard water too. Something I found to be really helpful is to hand dry them after cleaning them. I extend my "do not let them dry out" stage until literally everything is done. I keep them in a bowl of water between stages, after polish I clean them. I have been using a cheap ultra sonic cleaner instead of running a "burnish" stage, which is actually not a burnish but really just a wash. I don't really know why everyone calls it that. The ultrasonic works really well for anything that has fractures. Here's a time-lapse of cleaning some quartz that I collected from Hogg Mine.
Here's an after picture after I tumbled some green Tree Moss agate. If I had any idea the water would turn so dirty I would have made a time lapse of this one.
After the ultrasonic cleaning they get dumped onto a towel and I use a microfiber cloth to hand dry each one.
What soap do you use in the ultrasonic?
Shelly
“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” Unknown
We have fairly hard water too. Something I found to be really helpful is to hand dry them after cleaning them. I extend my "do not let them dry out" stage until literally everything is done. I keep them in a bowl of water between stages, after polish I clean them. I have been using a cheap ultra sonic cleaner instead of running a "burnish" stage, which is actually not a burnish but really just a wash. I don't really know why everyone calls it that. The ultrasonic works really well for anything that has fractures. Here's a time-lapse of cleaning some quartz that I collected from Hogg Mine.
Here's an after picture after I tumbled some green Tree Moss agate. If I had any idea the water would turn so dirty I would have made a time lapse of this one.
After the ultrasonic cleaning they get dumped onto a towel and I use a microfiber cloth to hand dry each one.
I use a very similar ultrasonic cleaner as yours. Works pretty well for me too.
The two smaller ones are still going, but the bigger one is finally done after many months of tumbling! The last month alone was spent in aluminum oxide polish with pea size garnet media (bottom picture). I think I could run it a few more weeks, and it will shine even more…but I am pretty happy with it as it is.
Last Edit: Nov 3, 2023 18:24:26 GMT -5 by velodromed
Man! That SDP Agate looks awesome!! Out of the ones you sent me I got 2 in the vibe now (maybe 3??) They should be done by Monday or Tuesday!
That’s great! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. I think I’ll put my back for another polish cycle. I have some 2-3 micron AO I’ll try for several weeks using the garnet media.
Man! That SDP Agate looks awesome!! Out of the ones you sent me I got 2 in the vibe now (maybe 3??) They should be done by Monday or Tuesday!
That’s great! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. I think I’ll put my back for another polish cycle. I have some 2-3 micron AO I’ll try for several weeks using the garnet media.
That’s great! Can’t wait to see how they turn out. I think I’ll put my back for another polish cycle. I have some 2-3 micron AO I’ll try for several weeks using the garnet media.
Oooooo . . . you are going for super shiny!!!
Eventually yup. Fred is getting the garnet polish treatment for the next few weeks.
velodromed - Velo, thanks for tagging me...and sorry for the delayed response! That beast looks absolutely amazing!!
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
I knew someone had asked me this and I wasn't at a place I could easily answer and when I went to look for it, I couldn't remember where it was asked. I just use a couple of pumps of dawn dish soap and swirl it around with my finger to disperse it before putting the basket in.
velodromed - Velo, thanks for tagging me...and sorry for the delayed response! That beast looks absolutely amazing!!
You know buddy, I was worried for a bit. Thought Bigfoot had finally gotten you. Nice to see you came out on top again. Thank you for sending those to me in the first place! I’ve had a blast with them. Still have a bunch I’m working on slowly.
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amygdule: I like my meat warmed to Body TempoF... Then wrapped with a slice of Cheese
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rocknrob: That was one heck of a windstorm that thankfully missed me. I guess Seatac almost hit 60mph gusts. I bet those were some fun landings
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Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
*
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
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Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
Nov 15, 2024 17:44:51 GMT -5
