drdrew
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2010
Posts: 85
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Post by drdrew on Jan 12, 2011 12:51:01 GMT -5
is there any reason to recharge the polish stage in a vibe? i have heard going anywhere from 2-6 days in polish. other that keeping moist, is there reason to rinse and recharge, or recharge alone? what if the polish dries out? can it just be reactivated with water or should it be rinsed and recharged then? thanks as always
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Post by tntmom on Jan 12, 2011 13:07:33 GMT -5
I have never recharged a polish stage. It is my understanding that polish does not break down the way grit does. I also know of some people here that save their polish in plastic containers and reuse it over and over. I have never done that though since a vibe only requires 1/2 to 1tsp of polish.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 12, 2011 14:39:10 GMT -5
Nope, polish recharge ain't necessary. If it don't polish after a week in the vibe, it probably won't polish. You might try a different polish or take it back a couple of steps and retry but some stones of course, are just too porous to polish with any type of polish
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 12, 2011 14:45:56 GMT -5
I have almost never recharged polish, aside from adding water. Also, with some Apache tears and other challenging stones, I have gone 10 or more days in polish with the Lot-O or the Gy-Roc.
If the rock was soft, like African Butter Jade, and still making a bit of mud, then a change might be useful.
If it manages to completely dry out, and there is any polish in small flaws that were countenanced when the decision to stop grinding was made (for example if someone wanted to move on all stones at once even though a few were slightly less ready) then it might be necessary to go back a step. The sub-micron particles in polish are effective for getting out the small scratches on smooth surfaces, and I think effective in getting out semi-dried or thickened polish form small flaws - but it doesn't seem to be effective in getting out dried (cemented) polish from anything but the smallest of scratches.
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drdrew
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2010
Posts: 85
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Post by drdrew on Jan 12, 2011 15:54:23 GMT -5
would borax then get out the particles after the polish?
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Post by susand24224 on Jan 12, 2011 17:56:42 GMT -5
Drdrew, my experience is only with rotaries, but perhaps it will be helpful with the vibe. I used to use borax as a burnish, and it removed polish so long as the burnish stage was begun prior to the rocks drying out. Sometimes this meant dumping the rocks in water while cleaning the barrel, etc. However, I have since started using grated Ivory soap, and it is considerably more effective--and considerably more bubbly (which is probably why). I know that you are much drier in a vibe, though, so don't know what different effect you will have.
Susan
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slabcabber
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 590
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Post by slabcabber on Jan 12, 2011 18:45:57 GMT -5
I have never had to recharge the polish. I use mine over and over, how ever I do have some polish that has completely dried out and am not sure if I can use that again .... But I will find out soon ..Am going to crhush it up and try it shortly...Mark
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Post by deb193redux on Jan 13, 2011 19:53:43 GMT -5
should work. dry is not a problem. it is dry when you start. only dry in cracks/pits is a problem. often has to be ground out.
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