socalboy
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 5
|
Post by socalboy on Aug 18, 2023 10:18:03 GMT -5
Hi All -
I'm new to the hobby and when tumbling the final polish cycle the stones still turn out dull. I use water, a few shavings of Ivory soap, and stage 4 grit. Sometimes I've used Cerium Oxide. I use ceramic media or plastic pellets. Fill drum 3/4 with rock, add water to just below the top of the rocks. Drums are always clean. Pellets ot plastic media always new or what I saved from the last time from that sale grit level.
What am I doing wrong??
Thanks, Steve M
|
|
rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
|
Post by rocknewb101 on Aug 18, 2023 10:48:38 GMT -5
Hey socalboy - welcome to the forum!! This section is more for troubleshooting the forum platform issues and you may not get a lot of answers here - post again in the rock tumbling section and you'll get more responses. At a quick thought - what type of 'stage 4 grit' are you using? If it's polish you got from amazon, or with a 'lesser' tumbler (nat geo comes to mind, because I have one) then they don't go high enough to really get a good shine. Nat Geo/polly plastics polish only goes up to 1200, whereas others go up to 8000 or higher. This is what you'll want to use. It sounds like you are doing everything else right. What kind of tumbler do you have? If it's one with speed levels, do you only use the low speed? High speed can cause the rocks to bounce into each other and cause cracks/frosting. Can you share pictures? That might help to see what's going on. Are your rocks the same hardness? Putting softer rocks with harder rocks can result in poor shine. These are the things that I can think of off the top of my head - I've only been tumbling for almost 2 years so I'm new enough - post again in the rock tumbling section and I'm sure you'll get tons of great advise!
|
|
Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,881
|
Post by Tommy on Aug 18, 2023 11:02:31 GMT -5
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum! As Peta said this is the forum techie board so I'm gonna move your post over to the main rock tumbling board for you. socalboy
|
|
iamchris
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2023
Posts: 722
|
Post by iamchris on Aug 18, 2023 12:30:28 GMT -5
Also, a picture is worth a thousand words!
|
|
dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
|
Post by dillonf on Aug 18, 2023 19:21:41 GMT -5
Try using the Rock Shed polish. I agree with everything rocknewb101 said - special emphasis on the tumbler's speed.
|
|
RockyBeach
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2023
Posts: 319
|
Post by RockyBeach on Aug 18, 2023 20:34:02 GMT -5
Hi All - I'm new to the hobby and when tumbling the final polish cycle the stones still turn out dull. I use water, a few shavings of Ivory soap, and stage 4 grit. Sometimes I've used Cerium Oxide. I use ceramic media or plastic pellets. Fill drum 3/4 with rock, add water to just below the top of the rocks. Drums are always clean. Pellets ot plastic media always new or what I saved from the last time from that sale grit level. What am I doing wrong?? Thanks, Steve M fwiw .... if the problem is not grit related ... as suggested by several of the "not newbies" to the art of lapidaryism ... I switched from using Ivory to using Borax and, for whatever reason, it worked on removing the dull haze from my beach and river rocks. Am now doing a short Borax clean between stages and a couple of longer ones at the end of the run with encouraging results.
|
|
dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,071
|
Post by dshanpnw on Aug 20, 2023 10:37:06 GMT -5
Welcome socalboy from Washington state, our state gem is petrified wood. I would ask the same questions as rocknewb101, what type of rocks are you tumbling? What type of tumbler are you using? What kind of polish are you using, cerium oxide only? It sounds like you are doing everything right and even if with a few minor mistakes you should be getting a pretty good shine. Try posting photos and you will get a lot of help.
|
|