Blue G trade secrets

Polishing with oil based compound does much better at getting the black areas to polish up


try this trick if you have it polished but there are areas not shining up, take a soft leather like a chamois cloth and spray it with silicone and 100,000 grit diamond and hand rub it - see what happens

Great input, folks! We're watching with baited (?) breath, while grinding away at about 50 pounds of Blue G, getting it ready for our first Gy-roc tumbling run.

For any readers who haven't worked Blue G, it's nodular in occurrence, and quite variable in makeup. The style ("blue granite") that Scott is working has lots of small, black crystals, presumably of hornblende. It can be a challenge to polish, and the ideal polishing compound seems to vary from nodule to nodule.

We're testing AO & cerium on leather this week, and it's working nicely so far. Gotta take a stone up to 50,000 and see what it'll do! ;D
The higher grit that the final pre-polish step goes, the better the final polish ... Which does actually make sense! :cheesy:

Any "in progress" photos, folks?

Later!

Kris

Ask them if they can spell glaucophane. Or give them a small piece to drill any size hole in and they will know in an instant that it is not granite.
Good luck
Jim

here

www.hand2mouthmining.net/

Just put in an order for 20lbs...can hardly wait. ;-}

Shotgunner, you're killing me. Got any in progress photos? This is like waiting for the start of the next season of your favorite TV show...

Scott, if the tin doesn't work, try cerium. Additionally, with the "blue granite" style, the higher the grit sanded, the better the polish on the black crystals.
The one consistant in polishing is the higher the grit in pre polish, the better the polish itself works overall. The best I've seen was taken to 100,000, then polished with cerium on felt bobs. Mirror polish!
;D

I haven't had the orange peel or other surface effects that jade may show when over polished. Blue G just simply hazes if it doesn't like the polish compound you're using.
I just clean the stone and switch polishes. If that doesn't work, I switch back to diamond.
With Blue G, less than a mirror polish is acceptable to me and gives that tur***se look, what we call a "Southwestern" style.

Thanks for the input, my friends. I'm posting cutting tips and such to our website today, and your continued suggestions and tips are most appreciated!

And Mr. Scott, we await your photos!
:drool: :drool: :drool:

Ciao!
Kris

OK folks, lost charger to my DSLR, point and shoot giving me fits, cellphone an utter abortion for shooting finished materials. I have ordered replacement charger/battery.

Stay tuned for your regular programming.

Scott, it sounds like you're living the same life as me.
Work hard, be meticulous, slave over the grindstone, get good results ...
And the camera's dead!

Par for the course, eh?

One reassuring thing ...
The average onlooker will be stunned by your Blue G spheres! So few Show attendees bother to wear Optivisors!
:cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

Being blessed with near-sightedness, I often notice "blemishes" that other onlookers don't see. It's a great for cutting, but I've learned not to offer unsolicited suggestions on getting a better polish.
If asked for suggestions, the answer is generally "look at it under a 10x magnifier," thus taking myself out of the line of fire!

Our website awaits your sphere photos, sir!

Thanks again!

Kris