vayank5150
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2017
Posts: 118
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Post by vayank5150 on Apr 6, 2017 6:49:40 GMT -5
Thanks guys. I found a post somewhere on these boards that recommended running Borax for 3 days, so......being the noobs that my daughter and I are, that is what we did. I am VERY hopeful that this polish stage will produce at least SOME polished rocks. My question now is, how long should I run these rocks in the polish stage? In a rotary, a week is the standard prescribed duration. At the very least, it might be a good point to open up the barrel and see how your stones look and run longer if necessary. Your stones may still look a little hazy after they dry, until you burnish with borax for a few hours to remove any residue. So....you run them in Borax again AFTER you polish? Good to know. I wasn't aware of that step!
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Post by aDave on Apr 6, 2017 11:32:09 GMT -5
The initial post said you moved the stones back to fine grind, then 3 days in borax, now to polish.... what about pre-polish? If by "fine" you mean size 500 grit then that's good, but fine usually means 120/220 grit, and there's no way rocks should go from 120/220 directly to polish or they will never shine up well. As for borax/ivory, I use the soap, about 1 Tb in a 6 lb barrel, but 45 minutes is all that's needed as it's just to loosen up and remove residual slurry and stuck grit before moving to the next stage. Ruh roh....with the way I buy grit, I have bought from multiple sources. Some are marked Coarse, Medium, Fine and Polish. The bags do not say anything other than that. No numbers. Some do have numbers....like "Coarse-60/90", "Medium-150/220", "Fine-500 grit". However, I do not see any that are marked "pre-polish", so I have assumed all along that polish follows "Fine"? You're good with what you have. Many kits will come with the grits marked as you noted for the four steps. Good luck. Dave
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rollingstone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since July 2009
Posts: 236
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Post by rollingstone on Apr 6, 2017 14:48:06 GMT -5
If your fine grit says "fine-500 grit", then yes, that is considered pre-polish and you will be fine.
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