markb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Aug 10, 2022 11:07:48 GMT -5
Doug, and others familiar with UT-10 vibes or other vibes in general, After building up several batches of rocks for 220 and 500 grit runs, I finally put one in a polish run yesterday at 11:30 am. It seems to be a bit louder than previous stages, maybe because the polish grit is finer, but the action was fine all day long. On my check last night before bed, I fished out and checked a couple of the rocks and they already seem to have a high gloss shine to them. Most are a mix of mohs 7 stuff, some pre polished in nature stones, some from a previous polished rotary tumble that I wanted a better shine on, and some from a 500 grit tumble. My question today is how long do I let it tumble in the polish stage? Two days? Three days? Is One day okay?? I want to achieve a high gloss shine like Rob at Michigan Rocks gets. Thanks! markb
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Aug 10, 2022 11:41:53 GMT -5
I mostly go for 2+. I tumble larger rocks, takes longer for them to get polished.
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Aug 10, 2022 12:12:03 GMT -5
2+days, forgot to put days.
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Post by HankRocks on Aug 10, 2022 12:23:05 GMT -5
As many days as it takes until they are polished to your satisfaction. Not trying to be a smart-ass, but seriously you are the final judge of the results and if you are happy then they are done.
It really depends on the type of rock, the shape, the mix, etc.
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markb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Aug 10, 2022 12:36:03 GMT -5
As many days as it takes until they are polished to your satisfaction. Not trying to be a smart-ass, but seriously you are the final judge of the results and if you are happy then they are done. It really depends on the type of rock, the shape, the mix, etc. HankRocks No worries, I said the same thing but was a bit surprised when some were very shiny after only 12 hours! I guess I could save the slurry and do a quick check overall, leaving some in if they need more. It just seemed like a lot of work to do that if others just have more patience when they polish. Since they are so noisy, I just didn't want them to bang together and chip, but I did put in 1/3 ceramics to help with that. markb
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,071
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Post by dshanpnw on Aug 10, 2022 21:58:24 GMT -5
Hi Markb, it is a coincidence that just today I finished a batch after two days in polish with the UV-10 vibe. I checked them after one day also and they were super shiny then too, but I always go with two days sometimes longer. I'm thinking of leaving them in another day or two to see if they will get even better, but it could cause chipping or something. When is good enough good enough? That is a question only you should answer. Thus, I agree with the comments above that if you think they are good enough then maybe you should leave it at that. Burnishing after polish might make them even better. Thanks for sharing and I'm excited for you.
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markb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Aug 11, 2022 9:11:09 GMT -5
Hi Markb, it is a coincidence that just today I finished a batch after two days in polish with the UV-10 vibe. I checked them after one day also and they were super shiny then too, but I always go with two days sometimes longer. I'm thinking of leaving them in another day or two to see if they will get even better, but it could cause chipping or something. When is good enough good enough? That is a question only you should answer. Thus, I agree with the comments above that if you think they are good enough then maybe you should leave it at that. Burnishing after polish might make them even better. Thanks for sharing and I'm excited for you. DougI ended up stopping the tumble because it was so LOUD and I was afraid of chipping, even though I had 1/3 ceramics included in the batch. Apparently, some rock had disintegrated into lots of tiny black specks. I removed the ones I thought it could be, but could really never tell in the end if they were the ones. At any rate, most of the rocks seemed to have a good shine, although, my lack of good photography skills doesn't show that. I burnished them in Borax for about 1 hour, is that long enough? It seemed to clean them up. Maybe a handful didn't go to a good shine, and/or may not even if I do them again. Who knows. Thanks for your response. Mark
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Post by victor1941 on Aug 12, 2022 10:18:51 GMT -5
Markb, I agree with the other responses that part of the time factor is determined by the finish you want and the rock type. I have had excellent results with 5 day runs in my UV-18 on really hard material. However, on some material that undercuts I take less shine as my finish point and keep a close check on the cycle. I always run 50% small media in my vibe and add more as necessary to keep the volume up and add any water as necessary.
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,071
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Post by dshanpnw on Aug 14, 2022 18:42:28 GMT -5
I burnish for about 3 hours. I know some go much longer, but I fear of chipping and three seems to work just perfectly. One would probably be just as good because I have done one hour before and there isn't much difference if any at all. The vibe noise is louder in polish. Also, those little black specks you saw, there was a lot of it right? I mean all through the whole batch, tiny little black specks? I think that is normal. I think it is the bowl wearing away because eventually they do wear out, they kind of disintegrate very gradually. That is what I'm saying those black specks are, and I get them in every single batch. I also find that they do not effect the shine whatsoever.
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markb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2022
Posts: 472
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Post by markb on Sept 9, 2022 18:55:20 GMT -5
I burnish for about 3 hours. I know some go much longer, but I fear of chipping and three seems to work just perfectly. One would probably be just as good because I have done one hour before and there isn't much difference if any at all. The vibe noise is louder in polish. Also, those little black specks you saw, there was a lot of it right? I mean all through the whole batch, tiny little black specks? I think that is normal. I think it is the bowl wearing away because eventually they do wear out, they kind of disintegrate very gradually. That is what I'm saying those black specks are, and I get them in every single batch. I also find that they do not effect the shine whatsoever. Doug
Do you burnish with Borax, Ivory Soap or something else? I had been using Borax and while I like it, I was thinking it was leaving residue in or along the crack lines in some of my rocks. Maybe I used too much, maybe didn't run the batch long enough. Today I tried Ivory Soap and ran the batch for 3 hours, but I'm pretty sure I used too much soap. The rocks came out shiny okay, but very slick and soapy, with residue soap sticking here and there in the barrel. I'll have to say I didn't see any black specs this way-LOL. In the end, I had to wash my media with Dawn to get the soap smell off them.
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,071
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Post by dshanpnw on Sept 11, 2022 16:46:34 GMT -5
I burnish with Borax, about two to three tablespoons, just enough to make a thin milky slurry. I usually wait a couple minutes before I put the lid on to see that a nice milky slurry is starting. Then I recheck it in about an hour. I'm going to have to try Ivory. I think it will have the same results. I rinse with really hot water.
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