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Post by perkins17 on Aug 30, 2021 21:24:34 GMT -5
I visited my rock club today and the president very kindly gifted me a ton of grit. I received a 1 full set of four and then coarse and fine and then tripoli. I have never used it before and need some help. I've got a rotary and vibe. THANKS IN ADVANCE!
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quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Aug 31, 2021 0:17:40 GMT -5
I have had good result using tripoli for final polish, for over 20 years. We have had people who were polishing rocks before 1950 compliment our polish. I use about 3/4 cup per gallon of tumbler capacity, and pad it with leather pieces, ~1" squares for 2gallon and up barrels, smaller pieces would be better for smaller barrels; say 1/2", roughly. I do save and reuse the polish, addding maybe a tablespoon at each new run. This in rotary tumblers.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 31, 2021 10:03:29 GMT -5
Thanks!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Aug 31, 2021 10:21:13 GMT -5
perkins17 I think you can also use it in your vibe with walnut shells or corn cob. I don't tumble, but I know I've read that before.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 31, 2021 10:22:09 GMT -5
perkins17 I think you can also use it in your vibe with walnut shells or corn cob. I don't tumble, but I know I've read that before. Thanks! |
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 31, 2021 10:25:09 GMT -5
I'll try it between pre polish and polish.
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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 Aug 31, 2021 10:36:42 GMT -5
I have had good result using tripoli for final polish, for over 20 years. We have had people who were polishing rocks before 1950 compliment our polish. I use about 3/4 cup per gallon of tumbler capacity, and pad it with leather pieces, ~1" squares for 2gallon and up barrels, smaller pieces would be better for smaller barrels; say 1/2", roughly. I do save and reuse the polish, addding maybe a tablespoon at each new run. This in rotary tumblers. , do you use the leather scraps instead of smalls? I did a quick search of the forum and couldn't find much about using the leather for tumbling, mostly for polishing with other tools. There were posts related to a member sending out scraps for the price of postage, but not much about using them. Do people use the leather for just tripoli, or for other polishes as well? I think I inherited some tripoli from my uncle who made black powder rifles and stuff. This might be an option to put some shine on some of the calcite or other soft rocks I have waiting. |
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 31, 2021 17:24:43 GMT -5
Perkins, I use tripoli after a 2 day run in 1000 SiC. I add 1/2 the amount used for the SiC and add directly to the mix with with no wash and tumble one day more. I then wash and run the polish in my UV-18 for three days. My mix is at least 1/2 small media + stone + abrasive or polish + 2 Tablespoons borax each cycle. My materials are purchased from the Rock Shed for product continuity. Also know that tripoli microns vary just like other materials.
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Post by perkins17 on Aug 31, 2021 18:30:39 GMT -5
Thanks! I will try it on this next batch.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Aug 31, 2021 21:09:42 GMT -5
reeniebeany, to me the leather is nothing more than padding, and I am careful to always run multiple sizes of rocks [smalls as you refered to]. I put about 1/3 the rock volume of leather scraps. They do get sort of unpleasantly slimy that I think might turn some people off, but the stuff works well for me. I run 1 1/2 gallon and 5 gallon capacity barrels, don't know if or how well it would work in smaller ones, smaller pieces should do just fine. As common sense would dictate, dedicate the leather to the same grit or polish run. I don't use split leather material, it grinds to nothing pretty quickly. Edited to remove word tripoli and put leather, the right word in. Boy, that was dumb.
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dirtybill
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2021
Posts: 13
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Post by dirtybill on Sept 3, 2021 14:31:52 GMT -5
Just a thought. When I tumbled brass for reloading, I used jewelers rouge added to a few pounds of rice, dry tumbled. I wonder if you can do the same with the Tripoli and rocks? My brass turned out really shiny with just an overnight run. Once the rice was impregnated with the rouge, I just kept using it over and over for at least a couple of years b4 having to add anything.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Sept 4, 2021 18:45:26 GMT -5
I use Tripoli as a pre polish. After 500 SiC I run 2 to 3 weeks in Tripoli. I have polished with it as well but the run is usually 8 weeks or more. All in a rotary.
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 26, 2024 17:00:19 GMT -5
To what I know, Tripoli is the best polish for agates and Jaspers.
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 26, 2024 17:01:37 GMT -5
Stefan, I think tripoli can be used as a polish if you let it run for long enough.
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Post by rmf on Jan 26, 2024 19:52:19 GMT -5
Tripoli is a polish which works well on Agates. It can also be used as a prepolish. It is composed of SiO2 so it might work well on true jaspers.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Jan 26, 2024 22:18:35 GMT -5
In my 5-gallon barrels I run it for 2 weeks, maybe not a necessary amount, makes for a convenient amount of time for cleanouts.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Jan 27, 2024 21:41:29 GMT -5
perkins17 I use it to polish quartz in a vibe (Lot-O). I let it go for 4-5 days. Occasionally 6. I like it better for polishing quartz. It makes a thicker slurry in the vibe and helps cushion the stones.
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rydersrocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Likes rocks of all kinds
Member since January 2024
Posts: 109
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Post by rydersrocks on Jan 29, 2024 13:15:43 GMT -5
Yea, Allegedly the best polish has to have the same MoHs hardness as the Rock. So, Tripoli or Diatomaceous should technically be the best polish for things of a Mohs hardness of 6 or 7. This is to what I have been told.
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