llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 5, 2004 10:32:47 GMT -5
I think I read somewhere here that the pre-polish stage is just as important as the polish step. And was told by a guy at the rock show that the reason the my first batch of stones didn't polish very good was because they didn't go long enough in prepolish.
I have a batch scheduled to come out of prepolish today, but am going to let them go a few more days. Do I need to recharge them or just let them run a few more days?
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Apr 5, 2004 10:44:32 GMT -5
Hey Llana, I would let the "feel" of the rocks dictate that. They should feel "slippery" if they are ready. If you have a jewelers loupe, you can examine the surface to see the texture, but generally feeling will work just fine once you get used to it. The grit will break down and if you continue to run the same grit it will generate finer and finer scratches. If you let it go long enough, they would be polished. If you recharge, you will begin the process over again making the scratchs the same size as the original grit. My suggestion would be to not add grit, just continue to run your original for a few more days. I have read where people say you only need to run the prepolish for 3 or 4 days in a rotary tumbler. I run mine 8 to 10 days. If you only run 3 or 4 days, then you will definitely need to add another finer pre-polish stage.
Ron
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Apr 5, 2004 11:00:54 GMT -5
Thanks Ron. I will just let them run for a few more days. The last batch ran for 6 days and the into polish. I wasn't happy with the polish job, so think I will let these go longer. Maybe then I won't have to repolish.
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