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Post by rhonda on Aug 31, 2004 5:24:25 GMT -5
Morning Everyone, I took my batch out of the polish stage and was generally pleased but noticed some polish residue, so I put them into a burnishing stage of Ivory Snow. Now they're dull. I assume it's likely contamination of old grit that I missed and am planning to put them into another round of polish when I get home from work tonight.
Do you think I'm right in my assumption of the old grit and do you think another round of polish will help?
Thanks for your suggestions.
~rhonda
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MoonStone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 202
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Post by MoonStone on Aug 31, 2004 6:54:45 GMT -5
Hello Ronda I'm new to tumbling (in my fist batch) but decided just to stop and try to be a little helpful with some info I have. Remembering the things I read, it sounds like grit contamination, and you actually saw some grit on some of the rocks. For cleaning and burnishing the lortone manual recomends: 1/2 tablespoon of Ivory snow for1.5 pounds barrels, 1 tablespoon for 3 pounds barrels 1 1/2 tablespoons for 4.5 pounds barrels, etc. I think it will probably be a good idea to wash your rocks for an hour or two (at least) in the tumbler with either ivory or Borax. Some people even do this with warm water. I read Borax helps to get hard to reach grit from rocks. Then after this, try the polishing step again if washing does not solve the problem (burnishing and washing with Ivory is similar). The Lortone booklet recomendations for the burnishing step is to set up the barrel as usual but with the soap instead of the grit (rocks, water, ivory snow, and pellets). Then they recomend at least 4 days for the process. This process is an optional step and it is used If your rocks shows white spots or a slight haze or film after you finish step 4 (polishing). I'm sure that members who have actually gone through this problem before could give you better tips on this. Good Luck & Happy Tumbling!
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deepsouth
fully equipped rock polisher
He who rocks last rocks best
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,256
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Post by deepsouth on Aug 31, 2004 16:32:00 GMT -5
Hi Rhonda, Maybe this helps put your batch back in prepolish , then soapwash followed by polish. I wash mine again after the polish, with soap. Should do the trick Good luck Jack
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Post by docone31 on Aug 31, 2004 21:11:03 GMT -5
Ok, dullness after polish. Where do you get your water. I had a well in Punta Gorda that was so hard, and full of iron, I couldn't polish anything. After I upgraded the softener, put in an iron filter and carbon filter, my stones took a polish. I have found city water also to be incredibly hard for tumbling. I tried it all, Ivory flakes, borax, sodium bisulfate. I had to resort to demineralized water or distilled water for the polish. I also tried hdrogen peroxide 2H2O2 and got good results. I believe adding a cup of hydrogen peroxide to the tumble, the extra atom of O2 compensates for the dissolved solids. How hard is the water?
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Post by rhonda on Sept 1, 2004 7:08:09 GMT -5
Thanks Doc! I think you may be right. I'm in the boonies of Michigan and have well water that is quite hard & terribly rusty.
I haven't had the greatest luck with polish, but I chalked it up to learning - it never occurred to me that it may be the water! I'm going to get some distilled water and try it again.
Thanks for the eye-opener!
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Post by cookie3rocks on Sept 1, 2004 11:56:08 GMT -5
Hi Rhonda, We have a community well here and the water is not only hard, they reallywhack it with clorine. Ruins our clothes. I have found when I wash my hair, adding Epsoms salts to the water makes my hair much softer and shinier. Haven't tried it in the burnishing stage yet (keep forgetting!) but it may work. I also use borax and a clear water rinse between each grit phase. Hope that helps.
cookie
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Post by rhonda on Sept 1, 2004 12:14:03 GMT -5
Thanks Cookie. Do you do the borax & water rinse in the tumbler for a couple hours or do you just swish them around in a bucket? I haven't used anything but a water rinse between stages. Perhaps I'm causing my own problems... Likely that's it :-)
~rhonda
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Post by cookie3rocks on Sept 1, 2004 12:57:31 GMT -5
I run them with borax and water for a couple of hours, then just plain water for about 15 mins in case there is any residue. Helps clean the stones and the bowl.
cookie
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Post by rhonda on Sept 1, 2004 13:01:35 GMT -5
Thanks a million!
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deepsouth
fully equipped rock polisher
He who rocks last rocks best
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,256
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Post by deepsouth on Sept 2, 2004 21:07:44 GMT -5
I use palmolive dishwashing liquid , keep forgetting to look for Borax in the shop I soon noticed a lot of dirty water after the 600 grit Wow , proves to me that the soap does work well. I also seem to get a better shine now Jack
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