slabcabber
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 590
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Post by slabcabber on Jul 11, 2010 13:00:01 GMT -5
Hello there all I have another question, or maybe you could call it a pole. I have a 50lb box of Cerium oxide. How good is it going to work in my rotary tumbler? And what all stones can I use it on? I know Tin Oxide is better but I need to use up this Cerium that I already have if it is going to work.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,503
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 11, 2010 13:24:27 GMT -5
I'm a Rockshed AO user myself but do have some cerium which I sometimes use too. I tumble mainly quartz gem stuff ( agate and jasper) and cerium seems to work just as well as AO except AO is cheaper to buy. There do seem to be several grades of cerium. I use optical grade on my cabbing pads and it works great but the tumbling grade seems to still do a fine job on tumbles, especially with a two week polish run like I use....Mel
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joemojave
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2009
Posts: 133
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Post by joemojave on Jul 11, 2010 15:25:23 GMT -5
50lbs is a LOT of CO. Depending on its purity it should work fine for tumbling. To get the best shine on tumbled stones try putting a little CO on a wet cotton rag or leather scrap to make a paste and working the rock over with the rag. You will be amazed at the polish you can get this way.
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Post by krazydiamond on Jul 11, 2010 20:51:05 GMT -5
i've never had luck with CO, maybe it's best use is as a pre-pre-polish. i've used CPP which i believe is a real economy AO (that is the rumor CPP=Cheap Peoples Polish) for years now and have been having very acceptable results.
KD
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Post by johnjsgems on Jul 12, 2010 8:51:01 GMT -5
Cerium will work great on agates, jaspers, etc. It was the "standard" when I started and if it didn't work I went to Tin Oxide. You can always buy a little tin or aluminum as a back up. By the way, the only description I've seen for CPP said "pyrochemically produced compound" which I'm guessing is where the letters come from. Most people I've talked to that like it use a lot more of it than you need with more expensive polish. The higher priced polishes will work with a couple of teaspoons per 3 lb. drum. I hear 3-4 tablespoons with CPP. Which is really the least expensive?
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Post by rocklicker on Jul 12, 2010 16:54:02 GMT -5
Cerium is what I use on just about everything. I use it after a tripoli prepolish and am happy with the results. I don't think I've ever tried it without the prepolish. Generally, with cerium, I've found that it's easy to use too much. Also, the longer you let it go, the better it gets. A 10 day polish cycle has proven to work good for most stones.
Steve
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jul 16, 2010 2:45:47 GMT -5
Hi all,
I have always used co first worked well for me also
Jack
Yorkshire UK
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tomcloss
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since October 2008
Posts: 158
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Post by tomcloss on Jul 19, 2010 6:27:01 GMT -5
One thing I've learned while cutting cabs, is the polish really depends on the material. I usually use AO in my tumblers but have on occasion used CO with good results.
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