Post by saaz on May 25, 2024 19:04:40 GMT -5
Wanted to share a couple experiments I've done with polishing, spread the knowledge.
I had some small chips and even bits of rock the size of rice grains(little bits that break off, and I just leave in the rinsing screen), that had been through 120/220. Hard rocks like quartz and agate. They didn't seem worth much effort, but I wanted to take a shot at polishing them a bit, so I threw them in a 3# barrel with some ceramic and polish. They turned out great. I think this has been mentioned before, but one more data point supporting that very hard rocks seem to do ok going from 120 straight to polish.
The other test is kind of the opposite. I've been saving imperfect rocks, ones that are badly pitted or have seams that will never polish out. It got to the point I had enough to fill a 12# barrel. I'm in GA and it's getting too hot to spend the time outdoors emptying out a 12# barrel every weekend. So I was in a good position to try a test: put the rocks in the 12# with 3/4 cup 500 grit AlO, and let it run for 6 weeks. The accepted wisdom is that the grit breaks down and gets smaller, right? The rocks turned out great. I think some might be a tad less shiny* than rocks that have gotten the usual 2 weeks in 500 and 2 weeks in polish, but pass a side by side comparison. If I try this again I might do 8 weeks. I might make this an annual thing in the spring or fall, run my imperfect rocks at a time that the 12# would otherwise be idle, and save some money on polish.
*Editing to say that after taking another look, some are definitely worse than the normal process, but some look really good. I also used a small amount of ceramic, so that could be a factor.
I had some small chips and even bits of rock the size of rice grains(little bits that break off, and I just leave in the rinsing screen), that had been through 120/220. Hard rocks like quartz and agate. They didn't seem worth much effort, but I wanted to take a shot at polishing them a bit, so I threw them in a 3# barrel with some ceramic and polish. They turned out great. I think this has been mentioned before, but one more data point supporting that very hard rocks seem to do ok going from 120 straight to polish.
The other test is kind of the opposite. I've been saving imperfect rocks, ones that are badly pitted or have seams that will never polish out. It got to the point I had enough to fill a 12# barrel. I'm in GA and it's getting too hot to spend the time outdoors emptying out a 12# barrel every weekend. So I was in a good position to try a test: put the rocks in the 12# with 3/4 cup 500 grit AlO, and let it run for 6 weeks. The accepted wisdom is that the grit breaks down and gets smaller, right? The rocks turned out great. I think some might be a tad less shiny* than rocks that have gotten the usual 2 weeks in 500 and 2 weeks in polish, but pass a side by side comparison. If I try this again I might do 8 weeks. I might make this an annual thing in the spring or fall, run my imperfect rocks at a time that the 12# would otherwise be idle, and save some money on polish.
*Editing to say that after taking another look, some are definitely worse than the normal process, but some look really good. I also used a small amount of ceramic, so that could be a factor.
