agarbers
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2015
Posts: 1
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Post by agarbers on Jan 6, 2016 17:50:54 GMT -5
I am just getting back into tumbling after a 20 year break. I am trying to polish some rhodonite I picked up when I was living in SW Colorado back in the 80s. I am having issues getting a great polish. The black matrix seems to be softer and wears away faster making an uneven surface. The pink only seems to get a waxy luster. I am using chromium oxide polish. I was going to start trying to burnish them after the polish as outlined in "Modern Rock Tumbling". I am using plastic filler beads to increase the volume in the barrel but it seems like the soft plastic would be absorbing the burnishing effect. Any comments or ideas?
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Jan 7, 2016 5:24:23 GMT -5
Sorry, I don't have much to offer... I tumbled rhodonite many years ago and I don't recall any issues. As a slightly softer stone it needs to be treated as such but you know that already. Maybe your rough isn't solid material? I don't know. I used aluminum oxide when I polished mine. -Don
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Post by johnjsgems on Jan 8, 2016 15:52:37 GMT -5
Never tried but Covington lists Linde A as first choice. That would be .3 micron aluminum oxide. Second choice tin oxide. I've collected the stuff from above Silverton, CO and it looks a lot different than rhodonite from SO CAL. I used to meet a friend every year while in Durango for the show for lunch in Silverton and a little collecting. Have to cut some of it one of these years.
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