rocket
spending too much on rocks
Quality slabs for quality cabs in 2022
Member since September 2020
Posts: 292
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Post by rocket on Nov 2, 2020 14:47:50 GMT -5
With October contest wrapping up, I thought this would be a good time to ask. My rebuild of the Covington combo is nearing completion...but I still need to order a buffing wheel and polish. What are you using to buff your jasper cabs?...Rocket
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Post by stardiamond on Nov 2, 2020 14:53:45 GMT -5
I only use diamond paste. Tin or cerium oxide would probably work. Jasper varies a lot in hardness. Hard jasper needs pre-polishing; i.e. 3000 grit. Softer jasper will probably require less prep. Hard, Willow Creek, Owyhee. Soft Morgan Hill and many others.
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Post by rmf on Nov 2, 2020 18:44:46 GMT -5
Right now I use a hard muslin wheel with Tin Oxide. Start wet and let it dry. You will get a much better polish. I prefer leather but that wheel has died and I decided to use what I have. I like Tin Oxide better than cerium. Tin is much finer than cerium and gives a better polish.
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Post by pauls on Nov 2, 2020 22:28:46 GMT -5
All of the above, Cerium, Tin, Diamond. For difficult to polish jasper I find that Chrome Oxide often helps.
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Post by stephan on Nov 2, 2020 23:39:59 GMT -5
I’ve only used diamond and cerium oxide. Both worked fine, and I can’t comment on the others. I avoid using it on stones that may not have completely healed fractures, especially most poppy jaspers, because it’s nearly impossible to get it out of the cracks, and often makes them more visible.
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Nov 4, 2020 14:21:46 GMT -5
Someone will have the best advice here, but I now throw all of my finished Jasper cabs in to the Vibe tumbler, with finish grits (read: Rock Shed AO) for two days.
I am happy with the results. And now that I know what to look for, the loss rate is very low.
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Post by Starguy on Nov 10, 2020 12:41:39 GMT -5
Diamond is my preference. Once your buffs are charged, it’s very economical tool. rmf mentioned tin oxide. That stuff is amazing but expensive. |
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Post by rmf on Nov 11, 2020 6:44:01 GMT -5
Diamond is my preference. Once your buffs are charged, it’s very economical tool. rmf mentioned tin oxide. That stuff is amazing but expensive. what Starguy guy said is true. Tin Oxide is about $40 per pound. I also mix my Tin with LindeA about 1.5 tablespoons/ pound. Linde A is $120 per pound and you do not want to breath the dust it will mess up the lungs. I mix the two in water and apply to the cabs wet, work it wet, then work it dry, being careful not to over heat the cab. Mirror polish!!!! 1 lb of Tin will last for years so price on a per cab basis is small. I prefer diamond all the way but there are some stones that just polish better and faster with conventional polish.
the big advantage of Tin over Cerium is that Tin is about 100,000 "American Standard Grit" and Cerium is about 6500 "American Standard Grit" as you can see below comparing the micron sizes
Cerium Oxide
Our high quality, 85% purity, optically graded cerium, is excellent for polishing glass. One of the best all-purpose polishes. Also used to polish quartz, agate, opal, obsidian, etc
Cerium Oxide 3.5 MICRON SIZE
Cerium-R Oxide 1.2 MICRON SIZE
Linde 'A' Polish
A .3 micron alumina powder that is 99.98% pure aluminum oxide polishing powder with a 9 mohs hardness. A super polish for almost any gemstone.
Tin Oxide
99.9% Ultra High purity tin oxide. Over 85% particle size distribution 1 micron or less, and 58% is .37 micron. Excellent polishing on almost any gemstone including hard to polish stones.
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