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Post by miket on Oct 24, 2018 15:51:14 GMT -5
Hi miket. fernwood hit on a point that has not been covered too much and that is cleaning out the barrel. You can scrub each rock until you can see your face on the surface of the rock, but if you put them all back in a barrel with some of the previous grit still floating around on the sides or neck of the barrel that grit will contaminate the new grit you are using. The degree of contamination will definitely affect the appearance of the rocks you are tumbling with the new grit or polish It is essential, if you do not use a different barrel for each grit to avoid contamination, that you do a really thorough job scrubbing and cleaning out the barrel.
I use different barrels for each grit to avoid: a)costly contamination, b) wasted time if you need do over again, and c) disappointment, in that your expectations get shattered when you are really looking forward to seeing some really nice shiny rocks and they turn out dull. You have just been there and I am feeling your frustration. Perhaps some of the other members can share with you their techniques of cleaning and inspecting the barrels to make sure there is no contamination moving forward. Just my TCW. Cheers, johnw Thanks, John. I can always use two cents! I did thoroughly rinse each barrel- however, I did not scrub them. Money and time do come into account. And you hit the nail on the head with the expectations and disappointment. But again, this is my first time so I expect some setbacks. People here are helpful and I'm very determined to succeed so I will take any and all advice. I ordered polish today, I'm hoping the polish will be good enough. But while I'm waiting for it to arrive I'm going to pull all of the rocks (wood in other barrel) and scrub them with a toothbrush. Then I will definitely scrub and clean the barrels- I did rinse them thoroughly and I'm fairly certain that I got them clean but I will be positive this time. I'll try the polish for a week when it gets here and the ones that I'm not satisfied with will have to go back to the beginning of the line. Again, thanks for the tips.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 24, 2018 20:19:26 GMT -5
MsAli why are you going from 600 to 500? To me the lower the number, the coarser the grit. I might be missing something here. I do a 5 step process. 80 grit, 120-220 grit, 600 grit, 1200 AO pre-polish and 12,000 AO polish. I am using a rotary tumbler. Ok home and checked it, it is 80, 120-200, 600, AO pre polish and then Micro Alumina polish
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Post by aDave on Oct 24, 2018 20:35:59 GMT -5
MsAli why are you going from 600 to 500? To me the lower the number, the coarser the grit. I might be missing something here. I do a 5 step process. 80 grit, 120-220 grit, 600 grit, 1200 AO pre-polish and 12,000 AO polish. I am using a rotary tumbler. Ok home and checked it, it is 80, 120-200, 600, AO pre polish and then Micro Alumina polish Makes sense. I figured you probably typo'd your steps as you've ended up with polished stuff in the past. As to your old grit that was given to you, it's a crapshoot. If it were me, I'd just dump it and go with the known quantities. That's just me.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 24, 2018 20:42:08 GMT -5
Ok home and checked it, it is 80, 120-200, 600, AO pre polish and then Micro Alumina polish Makes sense. I figured you probably typo'd your steps as you've ended up with polished stuff in the past. As to your old grit that was given to you, it's a crapshoot. If it were me, I'd just dump it and go with the known quantities. That's just me. Part of me thinks tossing it is for the best, then other part of me thinks its a whole crap load of grit to waste
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Post by johnw on Oct 24, 2018 22:52:17 GMT -5
Makes sense. I figured you probably typo'd your steps as you've ended up with polished stuff in the past. As to your old grit that was given to you, it's a crapshoot. If it were me, I'd just dump it and go with the known quantities. That's just me. Part of me thinks tossing it is for the best, then other part of me thinks its a whole crap load of grit to waste Both you and aDave have a valid point to which I would add, if the grit is not marked, is old and been lying around for a while, how do you know it has not been contaminated? For my two cents I would suggest toss it and be done with it. Sure, its a lot of grit to waste, but what is more important to you, your time and getting good result, or as eDAve said betting on a crapshoot and starting all over again if it don't work out? Cheers, johnw
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Post by johnw on Oct 25, 2018 1:18:05 GMT -5
Thanks, John. I can always use two cents! I did thoroughly rinse each barrel- however, I did not scrub them. Money and time do come into account. And you hit the nail on the head with the expectations and disappointment. But again, this is my first time so I expect some setbacks. People here are helpful and I'm very determined to succeed so I will take any and all advice. I ordered polish today, I'm hoping the polish will be good enough. But while I'm waiting for it to arrive I'm going to pull all of the rocks (wood in other barrel) and scrub them with a toothbrush. Then I will definitely scrub and clean the barrels- I did rinse them thoroughly and I'm fairly certain that I got them clean but I will be positive this time. I'll try the polish for a week when it gets here and the ones that I'm not satisfied with will have to go back to the beginning of the line. Again, thanks for the tips. I didn'see where you said you cleaned the lid. Cheers, johnw
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Post by miket on Oct 25, 2018 7:43:41 GMT -5
Thanks, John. I can always use two cents! I did thoroughly rinse each barrel- however, I did not scrub them. Money and time do come into account. And you hit the nail on the head with the expectations and disappointment. But again, this is my first time so I expect some setbacks. People here are helpful and I'm very determined to succeed so I will take any and all advice. I ordered polish today, I'm hoping the polish will be good enough. But while I'm waiting for it to arrive I'm going to pull all of the rocks (wood in other barrel) and scrub them with a toothbrush. Then I will definitely scrub and clean the barrels- I did rinse them thoroughly and I'm fairly certain that I got them clean but I will be positive this time. I'll try the polish for a week when it gets here and the ones that I'm not satisfied with will have to go back to the beginning of the line. Again, thanks for the tips. I didn'see where you said you cleaned the lid. Cheers, johnw I did clean the lid, sir. Well, if rinsed well with a hose counts as cleaned. I will be more thorough I assure you. 🤔
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