melissa
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1
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Post by melissa on Jul 22, 2020 11:06:56 GMT -5
hello, I am new to tumbling and was curious if there was any prep work I needed to do to tumble rocks that I had previously sprayed with polyurethane. I thought I read somewhere there was something that needed to be done first to basically get the poly off before you put them in the tumbler. I can't find the site or article that I saw that on. Any ideas?
thanks,
Melissa
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Post by greig on Jul 22, 2020 11:25:31 GMT -5
Before tumbling, you will need a Sharpie marker to write on each stone "I will not spray crap on perfectly good natural rock". LOL
My two cents: Depending on the kind of stone being tumbled, I would just put them into tumbler and see what happens (peek after a day). The harder the stone, the less of an issue. I have some agate tumbling right now that somebody sprayed the cut to make it shiny and the stage 1 grit took care of it in short order. I suspect there may be an issue with a softer rock, whereby the initial rounding might be inconsistent until the urethane is rubbed off.
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on Jul 22, 2020 14:01:09 GMT -5
You just soak them in a can of gas overnight. That would probably dissolve off the poly. Just remember no smoking while doing it.
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Post by stonemon on Jul 22, 2020 19:08:13 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum!
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Post by pauls on Jul 22, 2020 22:26:26 GMT -5
Welcome from Australia, If the tumbler can remove rock, which it can, it is going to easily remove Urethane.
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Post by greig on Jul 23, 2020 10:28:27 GMT -5
You just soak them in a can of gas overnight. That would probably dissolve off the poly. Just remember no smoking while doing it. and rinse well afterwards. ;-) Soaking in mineral spirits or methyline chloride should also soften the poly. I suspect brake cleaner might work too. It effectively removes varnish from carburetors.
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Post by TheRock on Jul 24, 2020 2:15:32 GMT -5
My choice would be lacquer thinner overnight and follow up with some good detergent soap overnight in water. Why did you spray them with that stuff anyway? By the way to RTH from SW/Michigan ~Duke
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,561
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Post by jamesp on Jul 24, 2020 4:57:07 GMT -5
Tumbling abrasives remove anything. Use coarse silicon carbide like 60-80-60/90.
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Post by rmf on Jul 24, 2020 6:18:51 GMT -5
greig "Before tumbling, you will need a Sharpie marker to write on each stone "I will not spray crap on perfectly good natural rock". LOL" So funny but so true too. Polyurethane is so soft compared to what you are tumbling (both stones and grit) it will be ground off within a short time. In fact it will take much longer to write "I will not spray crap on perfectly good natural rock" on each stone than it will to grind it all off.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 24, 2020 8:22:21 GMT -5
Welcome, Melissa, from Northern Arizona!
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djsparkles
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2010
Posts: 79
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Post by djsparkles on Jul 24, 2020 19:13:08 GMT -5
Welcome Melissa from Indiana!
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toddbarrett
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2020
Posts: 16
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Post by toddbarrett on Jul 25, 2020 22:34:51 GMT -5
Hi Melissa, Welcome from Ramona, CA! I'm new to the tumbling game as well. Not to hijack your thread, but I found a rock that looks interesting to me, but the crew that blacktopped my driveway last month covered it with tar. Similar to your experience, I'm wondering if I can just put it in the 1st round with other rocks, or will it gum up the other rocks in the same batch? Anyone have any ideas? Todd B. Ramona, CA
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EricD
Cave Dweller
High in the Mountains
Member since November 2019
Posts: 1,142
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Post by EricD on Jul 25, 2020 22:43:34 GMT -5
Hi Melissa, Welcome from Ramona, CA! I'm new to the tumbling game as well. Not to hijack your thread, but I found a rock that looks interesting to me, but the crew that blacktopped my driveway last month covered it with tar. Similar to your experience, I'm wondering if I can just put it in the 1st round with other rocks, or will it gum up the other rocks in the same batch? Anyone have any ideas? Todd B. Ramona, CA Hey Todd. You can pretty well just scrape that off with a pocket knife. Or dissolve it off with mineral spirits
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toddbarrett
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2020
Posts: 16
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Post by toddbarrett on Jul 26, 2020 16:45:03 GMT -5
Thanks Eric, it worked great! Todd
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