lloyd1wv
starting to shine!
Member since December 2010
Posts: 47
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Post by lloyd1wv on Feb 14, 2011 9:02:54 GMT -5
I read that certain polishes do certain types of stones better. Does any one know if combining polishes is a good thing or a bad thing, and why? My last load of Agate I used all three polishes together -To, Ao, & Co. The load turned out great, though I recognize that Agate usually takes a great shine with most any thing. Is using two or three polishes together just a waste? Or is their any type of chemical reaction that takes place that isn't good? I'm sure that some you you "long timers" have experimented with this.
Thanks!
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Feb 14, 2011 10:29:17 GMT -5
The stones re only going to polish as much s the coarsest/hardest polish you use, polishes are inert so no "magic potions" here. Some polishes wear down faster so mixing with harder polishes 'looks like' the mix is working better, it's just like adding another stage of polishing. If the rocks have different harnesses you can see an improvement in shine by using a polish that works best with the harder part and re-polishing the softer material after (use lots of plastic filler for this).
So it's not actually a waste in some cases.
Dr Joe
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Feb 14, 2011 10:36:08 GMT -5
I've read about mixing polishes. SOme swear by it. Heres my take. Each polish has a cetain size (micron or mesh size) and a certain hardness (I believe in your mix the AO is going to be "the hardess") Mixing them really defeats the purpose of the softer polish. Another consideration is expense. While AO is realitivly cheap- TO is WAY to expensive to "waste" I don't mix my polishes (I use AO, TO, CO, TiO), as TO is my go to for most stones and it gets kinda expensive. As a matter of fact I even have seperate Pellets for each polish! Yea I'm that picky.
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