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 Feb 10, 2022 12:57:33 GMT -5
Does anyone have experience using cerium oxide as a final polish with rotary tumbler?
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,424
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Post by Wooferhound on Feb 13, 2022 10:10:23 GMT -5
When I got my first rock tumbler 5 years ago, I had also ordered a Grit Kit that used Cerium Oxide (CO) as the polish stage. Checked around on the Forum and the folks that had used CO were getting good results, so I kept ordering CO for my Polish.
Everyone talked about how good Aluminum Oxide (AO) worked as a polish, so after almost 2 years I tried a big bag of AO and started rolling with it. After a few batches I found that it was easier and faster to get a good polish with AO. But the main thing that made me change from CO to AO was that the CO was harder to clean it out of any cracks in the rock and it could get into some really small cracks.
I always did a Wash/Burnish for a few hours with Dove Soap shaved into the water but the CO would just cling in there stubbornly. If there are not any fractures in the rock at all, then CO should be great to use as a polish. Plus AO is cheaper.
Here are a couple of really old closeup pictures of some rocks polished with CO Note that all the fractures have a white powdery/Crusty appearance because the CO would not come out of there. Very Shiny though . . .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,424
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Post by Wooferhound on Feb 13, 2022 10:36:36 GMT -5
On another note, Cerium Oxide works better than Aluminum Oxide on some rocks that are harder to polish like Granite.
But it is awful on glass because it ends up looking cloudy.
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Post by Bob on Feb 16, 2022 11:10:11 GMT -5
I used only it for 2-3 years until I tested alum ox and got a better shine. The cerium ox creates a mixture with some thickness to it. They alum ox doesn't--it just remains thin like diluted milk which is really weird which made me worry about damage but apparently no need to worry.
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rocket
spending too much on rocks
Quality slabs for quality cabs in 2022
Member since September 2020
Posts: 292
|
Post by rocket on Feb 16, 2022 15:09:45 GMT -5
I used only it for 2-3 years until I tested alum ox and got a better shine. The cerium ox creates a mixture with some thickness to it. They alum ox doesn't--it just remains thin like diluted milk which is really weird which made me worry about damage but apparently no need to worry. OK, thanks for the feedback. I might still give it a try
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