delandtree
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2014
Posts: 2
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Post by delandtree on Sept 29, 2014 17:44:38 GMT -5
Hello all, I am new to rock tumbling and I tried searching for a previous post I am sure I am reposting. I am unsure of the vocabulary to porperly search. So I aploigize if this is an over asked question. My rocks come out of the polishing stage looking fuzzy, I read that I need to put in some ivory soap and wash them for about an hour. I tried that and I still get the same results. I even backed up to the 3rd stage and ran it again and ran the polishing stage again. Thanks so much for the help, Delandtree
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azgnoinc
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 484
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Post by azgnoinc on Sept 29, 2014 19:09:11 GMT -5
Those look to be amethyst or colored quartz, so you will need to tumble them in a very full batch that is the same material, if you are tumbling them with anything other than materials of the same hardness you will get frosting - so make sure that you have a full 3/4's of a bowl full of the same type materials with a good variety of sizes too, and see how that works out for you. You can also search amethyst tumbling for additional tips & hints too. Good luck & keep posting pics - you will find there is a learning curve with tumbling- so be patient and don't expect perfection from the start - but keep at it & you'll get there before ya know it.
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Post by jakesrocks on Sept 29, 2014 19:35:28 GMT -5
Your bowl and rocks must be spotlessly clean before going to the next grit. Also, are you using plastic pellets to cushion your rocks ? I start using plastic pellets in the second stage, and each stage thereafter. Save pellets for each stage in their own labeled container. Never use the same pellets from say 220 grit in your 600 grit load, or 600 grit in final polish. The soap & water burnishing stage will help bring up a final shine. Run them again in plain water & pellets after the burnish to remove any soap scum sticking to your rocks.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Sept 30, 2014 9:54:11 GMT -5
Could be a couple things ...
Looks like quartz, Yes? If your doing quartz in a rotary and the barrel is not full the stones can frost. They fall and crash into each other instead of rolling and sliding. When I do quartz or other finicky rocks I keep the barrel 80% full. Works well for me.
Cross contamination. One of your stones has some little pits in it. These can hold grit from previous stages and contaminate your polish. Have had it happen to me a couple times. Makes the shine kinda fuzzy and dull. In my rotary's I have always done a two step wash. First roll them over night with a little soap and borax. The water will be dirty when poured off no matter how well rinsed the rocks were. Rinse and roll overnight with borax only. Water should pour off a white color, if it pours off grey I do a third round. Rarely ever had to do third round.
Hope this helps.
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delandtree
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2014
Posts: 2
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Post by delandtree on Sept 30, 2014 10:15:36 GMT -5
I think it is amethyst, it could be colored quartz though. It was in a bin of raw rocks from a hippie store. I thought it would be a good way to get started. Thanks for all the advice! I will have to add more to the tumbler and try out the plastic pebbles which I was not doing, this was my first batch ever. I will have to get some more first, I have been doing a wash stage in between each stage. I rinse out the barrel and then add a bit of soap with the rock and tumble it for about an hour. Then wipe it down, I am not sure if this is helping keeping out the contamination.
Once again thanks for the input I will try out your advice and let you know how it went.
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Sept 30, 2014 10:56:01 GMT -5
Those will be mighty purdy once polished, nice finds and welcome to the forum.
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