caroline02
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 4
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Post by caroline02 on Aug 2, 2023 11:26:52 GMT -5
Hello, I recently acquired a rock tumbler to tumble possible Cape May diamonds that I found last summer. I skipped the first step since they weren't too hard, then did step 2 for a week, step 3 for a week, and step 4 for 3 weeks. However, the rocks are still not clear like how I want them to be. Below is a picture of what they look like now and a picture of how I want them to look like. Do you know how I can do this? Are these even Cape May diamonds?
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Post by Starguy on Aug 2, 2023 11:55:43 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH caroline02. Those look like they should polish. I see why you skipped stage 1. They don’t need more shaping. I’m not familiar with Cape May diamonds. It looks like the rocks are wet. A dry photo might help identify an issue. Do you think they are frosted all the way through or only on the outside? Tumbling won’t make a frosty/milky rock clear but it can make a clear rock look frosty. It looks like there are a few small stones that are clearer than the rest.
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hplcman
spending too much on rocks
Just getting into this....
Member since August 2022
Posts: 417
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Post by hplcman on Aug 2, 2023 14:10:28 GMT -5
From the looks of it I would say those rocks you have are inherently opaque. I don't think there's anything that can be done to make a rock like that look clear. They're really nice rocks regardless though! :-)
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 919
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Post by ashley on Aug 2, 2023 21:33:47 GMT -5
Cape may diamonds are simply quartz. What you have is quartz too. Yours looks more like milky quartz, they will polish beautifully but will not become clear.
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caroline02
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2023
Posts: 4
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Post by caroline02 on Aug 3, 2023 9:45:30 GMT -5
Starguy Here is a picture of what they look like when they are more dry. The rocks originally were more frosty all the way.
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Post by Starguy on Aug 3, 2023 10:31:31 GMT -5
caroline02I agree with ashley. I did notice some pretty clear smaller stones in your batch. There may be more clear ones where you collected these.
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Post by rmf on Aug 3, 2023 11:29:51 GMT -5
caroline02 Typically white quartz like you have has more water distributed in the crystal structure than clear quarts. This is what causes it to be milky. It is trapped in the SiO2 structure so you can't back it out. You will only be able to make the outside shiny, as others have stated above. If you find some frosted quartz and get it wet, if it clears under water then it would tumble to clear.
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