CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 18, 2010 11:41:19 GMT -5
:help: I have tryed and tryed and can not get a shine of any kind went thou 3 grits then used a pre polish (8 days)then Aluminum Oxide for 7 days and they look even duller then I started with we put them back after a good cleaning with more Aluminum Oxide we use different barrels for each grit :serious: what are we doing wrong ?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,497
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 18, 2010 11:52:25 GMT -5
Howdy, You didn't say what kind of rock your trying to polish. There are materials that put simply, won't polish period in a tumbler because they're just too soft. Many stones under mohs hardness 4 or stones of mixed hardness fall in this category. Also sometimes mixing hard with soft stones can cause hazy finishes as will loads not having enough varied sizes or plastic pellets so there's not enough surface to surface contact or too much knocking together of stones....Mel
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jan 19, 2010 4:17:00 GMT -5
Hi Ann How long have you had the tumbler going for ? With agates It takes me nearly 3 months in a rotary Check this RTH polishing Guide out www.rocktumblinghobby.com/cycle/cycle.htmlI hope you find it helpfull ---and please continue to ask As Mel says above check the hardness of your rocks I have some beach rocks here that just wont polish start off with Agates they take time but you always end up with a good finish polish on them Jack Yorkshire UK
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CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 19, 2010 14:50:31 GMT -5
I have been using the RTH guide step by step. as for what kind of rocks ? I don't know, I got them shiped to me with the nice tumbler that I got from Tony.
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jan 20, 2010 4:58:53 GMT -5
Hi Ann, Well try the pen knife test on them , press hard on the knife and scratch a line across the rock, if it leaves a silvery mark it is hard if it scratches the rock it is soft & it probaly wont polish Thats just a quick way of checking I use CO as a polish ,And do 90 Grit , 220G, 400G ,600G ,1200 G followed by a Burnish/wash of 24 hrs (then CO polish)and get this img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/john-edward/MaypolishVG015.jpgBe clinicaly clean at each stage wash this cant be emphasised enough Jack Yorkshire uk
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CUL-Ann
spending too much on rocks
rock lover~
Member since September 2008
Posts: 380
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Post by CUL-Ann on Jan 20, 2010 8:27:06 GMT -5
Jack, thank you, the size of grit helps a lot. I also see where you do more stages than I did, I just might have to go back some steps. also I knew about the scratch test but was not thinking about it for these rocks. those that you did sure look good , just what I'm trying for;-)))
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Post by johnjsgems on Jan 20, 2010 9:40:23 GMT -5
Out of USA seems to have only graded grit available. We have ungraded less expensive grit here. 60/90 (step 1), 120/220 (step 2), 500F (step 3). If you want a prepolish step use either 1200 or Tripoli (usually less expensive). Use a good polish like aluminum oxide or cerium and you should have success. Remember fill barrels to 3/4 full with water to around the bottom of top layer and a good mix of sizes. If you don't have small rocks in the mix use ceramic media.
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 20, 2010 13:58:37 GMT -5
BE sure you are getting slurry. All the pre-polish and polish in the world will not do much if there is too much water.
If you post a pic of the rocks wet and dry, maybe we can see if they are the problem.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Feb 27, 2010 11:01:05 GMT -5
Making the assumption your rocks are hard and solid enough to polish. We make a run of cheap dry laundry soap mixed with water to a pancake batter consistency, and about 20% of the rock volume of leather pieces cut about 1 1/2", the leather being padding. We let this run for 2 weeks. The leather gets really slimey, but it works for us.
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Feb 27, 2010 16:19:24 GMT -5
Making the assumption your rocks are hard and solid enough to polish. We make a run of cheap dry laundry soap mixed with water to a pancake batter consistency, and about 20% of the rock volume of leather pieces cut about 1 1/2", the leather being padding. We let this run for 2 weeks. The leather gets really slimey, but it works for us. At what stage? Dr Joe .
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Post by llana2go on Feb 27, 2010 18:17:44 GMT -5
CulAnn, I have let rocks run for 3 weeks on AO and not a bit of shine on them. Ran the same rocks for a week in some generic polish I have and got a beautiful shine.
I think I remember reading on the forum that there are several grades of AO and am thinking we used the grade that doesn't polish! I use the AO I have as a pre-polish cause I know it ain't no polish! ;D ;D
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Post by johnjsgems on Feb 27, 2010 20:04:08 GMT -5
Yes, AO comes in every grade from 600-.2 micron.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Mar 11, 2010 20:58:12 GMT -5
Sorry, I assumed. The soap run is after the polish run, sort of a burnish.
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