krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jul 18, 2021 8:38:16 GMT -5
Hi again guys! I decided to do some of my self collected funky shaped agates in my vibratory tumbler. I just took them out of the first step (stage 2, 120/220 grit) and they're looking nice! However, I believe there's grit stuck in areas that I just simply can't get out, no matter how much I scrub. Its mostly in pits and fractures, though there are some areas that seem quite flat that still have bits of gray (maybe its stuck in tiny imperfections). I ran them through Borax as well, but even this did not help. Here's an album showing a few examples: imgur.com/a/rYTFGhYI'm worried that this will be visible on the final product, which I really want to avoid if possible. Im also worried it may affect the next polishing steps if there's any grit left that comes out later. It's possible I may have not sprayed enough water on it as it was going through the 120/220 grit, and maybe it dried out a little then? I may have underestimated how wet it needed to be. If this is the case, I'm considering running it through the 120/220 step again, as I don't think it'd hurt and would maybe get a few more small imperfections out. But I'm unsure if that would fix this issue. What do you all think? As always, thanks so much for reading through
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Post by manofglass on Jul 18, 2021 8:46:27 GMT -5
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krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jul 18, 2021 9:16:45 GMT -5
I believe I've seen others do rocks like this in the vibratory with good results. This video comes to mind specifically, which uses very similar material: I do have a tool similar to those, unfortunately its not quite small enough for getting in the areas. It also makes a bit of a scraping noise, and I'm concerned it will scratch more than it helps. Perhaps it wouldn't since the agates are harder, but unfortunately it doesn't seem too useful. I really appreciate the reply, thank you!
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reeniebeany
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rotary Only
Member since January 2020
Posts: 125
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Post by reeniebeany on Jul 18, 2021 11:08:18 GMT -5
Ultrasonic cleaner. Water pic. Sonicare toothbrush (with an old head, or your mate's when they are not looking). Those are things that might help.
They are very cool rocks! Once you get the pits clean you could also try the trick recommended here and put a dab of epoxy in the clean pit. Especially if those are little sparkly crystals in some of the pits.
Keep us posted!
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Post by perkins17 on Jul 18, 2021 11:40:30 GMT -5
I would recommend running a "burnishing" stage to get all the grit out. I would also recommend purchasing a rotary tumbler in the future to remove all of the cracks and pits before proceeding to the vibratory tumbler. Hope that helps!
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krissykitty
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 25
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Post by krissykitty on Jul 18, 2021 19:41:32 GMT -5
reeniebeany Hey, thanks so much for the reply! I've heard of people using an ultrasonic cleaner, so that definitely came to mind. Previously I didn't see the need for it on rocks with a small/no amount of flaws, but for something so natural like this, I can definitely see its use. We do find a LOT of these funky agates too, so that's part of the reason why I want to figure out a plan of action for these guys So perhaps that would be a good investment, if it helps. I did think of a water pick as well! I don't think I've heard of anyone using one, but perhaps I haven't ran across a post mentioning one yet. There's a chance we may have a water pick or sonicare toothbrush stuck up somewhere, I will have to investigate. I definitely could try the epoxy trick, though these seem to have so many small tiny imperfections that I may have to coat the whole rock lol! Honestly I wouldn't be opposed to that though, I just don't know if its the most ideal. Some definitely do have little crystals! perkins17 I did run a burnishing stage with Borax. It was suggested to run for an hour to clean them, but I've had some experience with Borax prior and decided to run it longer. I ended up getting busy and it ran for at least 24 hours, so I was really hoping theyd be sparkling clean haha but no luck I do have a rotary tumbler, but I was going for the look in the video I linked previously where it was urged to skip the coarse step. I do really like the natural shape of these, and want to keep it as much as possible. I have considered running them through coarse in a rotary for maybe 3-4 days to just lightly shape them, maybe even with ceramics so they don't get as ground down and to hopefully prevent any fractures from getting worse. --------------------- In general, there's so many options I could try huh, haha. I guess I will have to test them out and just see how it goes. I was hoping someone would have experience with rocks like these, but perhaps I will be the guinea pig myself! I will definitely try to keep you all posted as I try to figure out my preferred method for these For now, Im thinking of either running them through 120/220 again in hopes that perhaps it fixes the dried grit, and this time I would add more water in case that was the cause.. or running them through rotary in 60/90 grit for a short cycle with ceramic to help them not get ground down as much and hopefully prevent fractures from expanding. I'm unsure which I'll decide on, but I'll figure out something!
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Post by perkins17 on Jul 18, 2021 22:06:20 GMT -5
Good luck! I highly recommend running the heavily fractured and pitted agates through the coarse cycle in a rotary for a while before moving back to the vibratory. I completely understand what you mean about liking them natural and hope you can figure something out.
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treadledad
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2021
Posts: 48
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Post by treadledad on Jul 19, 2021 11:07:43 GMT -5
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,975
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Post by victor1941 on Jul 21, 2021 9:03:50 GMT -5
I use a dry cleaner spot cleaning gun on material exactly as shown with great results. Nodules and materials from West Texas exhibit and show similar exterior patterns and polish very well in a UV-!8 vibe. Seal any pits that don't clean with epoxy or dop wax between stages and don't skimp on the abrasive, polish or time for each stage. I use acetone to remove any filler.
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JBe
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by JBe on Jul 21, 2021 9:51:49 GMT -5
I use a spot cleaning gun between stages on rocks like that as well. I always wear thick rubber gloves to protect my skin from injection.
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