Post by LCARS on Oct 11, 2005 3:53:15 GMT -5
Below is a cut & paste quote of an email I just sent to Lortone regarding the poor results I've been having with the alox polish in the new 4-stage compound kits.
I will post their response here if/when I recieve one...
_______________
Hello,
My name is (me!)
I have been using Lortone products for some time now & I have recently purchased a new 33B model tumbler from "The Rock Hound Shop" here in Victoria B.C. Canada.
My old 33A tumbler is still going strong after almost 3yrs of trouble free service!
I have always been pleased with the quality of Lortone products. Well, until recently...
I had a cache of the older style Lortone 4-stage compunds that were packaged in the aluminized cardboard tins which have since ran out. My new 33B tumbler came with one of the newer style of 4-stage compund kits which are packaged in plastic bottles. When I ran a standard batch consisting entirely of various colored glass bits collected from a local beach, I had absolutely NO success getting the glass to polish after almost two weeks with the Alox polish compound included in the kit.
I have done many batches of beach glass before using the older style of compunds with great success. I have changed nothing else about my procedure other than using the new compounds.
I always skip the 60/90 coarse grit & start with the 120/200 fine grit since the wave action always pre-shapes the glass. Rough edges are long gone by the time it washes up & I collect it.
I use pellets to cushion the load & I cleanse it thuroughly before polishing as recommended.
Basically, what i'm saying is that this is something that I am certain is related to the polish.
My question is: What has changed, the quality or the constituents?
A fellow rock hound has suggested the older style of polish may have been Titanium Dioxide since it is the only other polishing compound they knew of that's white like alox powder.
Cerium Oxide polish was recommended as a good polish for glass and I have since finished this batch of glass using the C.O. polish with great results! I obtained a small sample of Tin Oxide polish to compare with the residue left in the old style container of polish but it is quite clear that it is much whiter than the T.O. I have no way to tell if the old/new polishes are different. All I know is that they look the same but the results have differed notably.
I'm wondering if I should discontinue using the new Lortone compounds in my tumblers since I have also had poor results with it on harder stones such as quartz where I am finding it is taking significantly longer to shine them & the luster is duller in comparison to the old style of polish.
In order to get the same shine as before I had to run an additional stage of Cerium Oxide polish.
I have some of the offending polish left since I am now using an alox polish I purchased in bulk from a different supplier and that has been working fine on my jaspers and quartz stones so far.
The production code on the bottom of the box for the new 4-stage kit is: 5800 if this helps...
So far I haven't had any problems with any of the other compounds in the new kit.
I hope that this is just an isolated case of a "bad batch" of polish since I would be disappointed to learn that Lortone has switched to a cheaper source for the polish used in the kit and has accepted a lower standard of quality than I have come to expect from Lortone products. I pay the extra money for a Lortone product over a cheap knock-off brand knowing I can rely on the quality.
Please advise me on how to obtain a return authorization to send the remaining faulty product back.
Sincerely, (me!)
_______________
I will post their response here if/when I recieve one...
_______________
Hello,
My name is (me!)
I have been using Lortone products for some time now & I have recently purchased a new 33B model tumbler from "The Rock Hound Shop" here in Victoria B.C. Canada.
My old 33A tumbler is still going strong after almost 3yrs of trouble free service!
I have always been pleased with the quality of Lortone products. Well, until recently...
I had a cache of the older style Lortone 4-stage compunds that were packaged in the aluminized cardboard tins which have since ran out. My new 33B tumbler came with one of the newer style of 4-stage compund kits which are packaged in plastic bottles. When I ran a standard batch consisting entirely of various colored glass bits collected from a local beach, I had absolutely NO success getting the glass to polish after almost two weeks with the Alox polish compound included in the kit.
I have done many batches of beach glass before using the older style of compunds with great success. I have changed nothing else about my procedure other than using the new compounds.
I always skip the 60/90 coarse grit & start with the 120/200 fine grit since the wave action always pre-shapes the glass. Rough edges are long gone by the time it washes up & I collect it.
I use pellets to cushion the load & I cleanse it thuroughly before polishing as recommended.
Basically, what i'm saying is that this is something that I am certain is related to the polish.
My question is: What has changed, the quality or the constituents?
A fellow rock hound has suggested the older style of polish may have been Titanium Dioxide since it is the only other polishing compound they knew of that's white like alox powder.
Cerium Oxide polish was recommended as a good polish for glass and I have since finished this batch of glass using the C.O. polish with great results! I obtained a small sample of Tin Oxide polish to compare with the residue left in the old style container of polish but it is quite clear that it is much whiter than the T.O. I have no way to tell if the old/new polishes are different. All I know is that they look the same but the results have differed notably.
I'm wondering if I should discontinue using the new Lortone compounds in my tumblers since I have also had poor results with it on harder stones such as quartz where I am finding it is taking significantly longer to shine them & the luster is duller in comparison to the old style of polish.
In order to get the same shine as before I had to run an additional stage of Cerium Oxide polish.
I have some of the offending polish left since I am now using an alox polish I purchased in bulk from a different supplier and that has been working fine on my jaspers and quartz stones so far.
The production code on the bottom of the box for the new 4-stage kit is: 5800 if this helps...
So far I haven't had any problems with any of the other compounds in the new kit.
I hope that this is just an isolated case of a "bad batch" of polish since I would be disappointed to learn that Lortone has switched to a cheaper source for the polish used in the kit and has accepted a lower standard of quality than I have come to expect from Lortone products. I pay the extra money for a Lortone product over a cheap knock-off brand knowing I can rely on the quality.
Please advise me on how to obtain a return authorization to send the remaining faulty product back.
Sincerely, (me!)
_______________
