hoolligan1938
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 253
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Post by hoolligan1938 on Mar 24, 2022 18:22:05 GMT -5
Ladies and Gentlemen - I just purchased some Aqua and fucia (spelling) Crystal Quartz from "New Moon Beginnings". They are rough pieces and I would like to preform and polish, if that is possible. On normal stone, I usually go through stage one and two, and then prepolish and then polish. I use a flat lap to do initial preform and then tumble in a Lortone 3A. This crystal that I received is very shiny but very rough. Can quartz crystal be processed like a regular stone? I don't want to ruin them by anything I do because they both have such pretty color to them in the raw. Any help and information is greatly appreciated.
Jim
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 24, 2022 18:31:14 GMT -5
I think the quartz cystals you bought are coated to color them. There is no natural aqua quartz or fuschia quartz that I know of.
Doing anything to them will most likely strip the coating off and render them plain clear quartz crystals.
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 24, 2022 19:15:55 GMT -5
I think the quartz cystals you bought are coated to color them. There is no natural aqua quartz or fuschia quartz that I know of. Doing anything to them will most likely strip the coating off and render them plain clear quartz crystals. Basically correct, both of those are treated quartz and the coating is surface only. Rainbow iridescent Quartz does on rare occasion occur naturally. If the Iron coating imparted from the surrounding clay is just right, one can see the effect. Like the man-coated ones, it is surface only. I have some really nice pieces with the Rainbow iridescence I will try and post a picture, if I can find them!!
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 865
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 24, 2022 20:07:41 GMT -5
The 'Aura' part looks like a coating. The stone itself might be dyed-but, I wouldn't risk tumbling it. If you still want to tumble colored quartz you can buy 'Dyed Crackle Quartz' from The Rock Shed which are just dyed-heat treated clear quartz crystals. Shown below is one of my batches after 1 week of #120 AOx and a bit of SiC.
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hoolligan1938
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 253
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Post by hoolligan1938 on Mar 25, 2022 10:01:20 GMT -5
Thank you folks. I guess my lack of knowledge cost me a little but, they are still pretty and I guess I'll just leave them alone and admire the color. It is not an expensive learning curve. I'm glad I sought out information on this site. I'd have been real unhappy if I had gone ahead and tumbled them without seeking advice. Thank you all!
Jim
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Mar 25, 2022 10:38:51 GMT -5
You were smart enough to ask the question! Just a note - Metaphysical or New Age websites are probably not the best placecs to purchase tumbing material from. They cater to people who generally like raw stones, although they have no problem selling coated crystals to people. The coatings are usually some type of metal (titanium) usually and are vapor deposited on the crystals in a vacuum chamber. They are very pretty and I actually like some of the colors. I've seen some crystal clusters that have been coated and there were gorgeous. Also, tumbling crystals in a rotary will change their shape and really reduce the faces on the crystals by rounding the stones. I'm not a tumbler, but I would think if you wanted to just clean up some crystals you would need to use a vibe tumbler. A vibe will also round edges a little, but not nearly to the extent that a rotary will. The tumbling experts here are the best people to ask those questions of.
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brybry
Cave Dweller
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Member since October 2021
Posts: 1,220
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Post by brybry on Mar 25, 2022 10:57:08 GMT -5
A vibe is good for smoothing chipped/sharp edges from crystals. Don't take long either. 500 grit for a bit then run pre-polish to polish.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,883
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Post by Tommy on Mar 25, 2022 10:58:50 GMT -5
Thank you folks. I guess my lack of knowledge cost me a little but, they are still pretty and I guess I'll just leave them alone and admire the color. It is not an expensive learning curve. I'm glad I sought out information on this site. I'd have been real unhappy if I had gone ahead and tumbled them without seeking advice. Thank you all! Jim Hi Jim, I relocated this thread to the rock tumbling area for you where it's sure to get more eyeballs on it than the technical help area.
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hoolligan1938
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 253
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Post by hoolligan1938 on Mar 26, 2022 18:02:22 GMT -5
Tommy - Thank you for thinking about the posting.
Jim
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