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Post by mark wallace on Mar 1, 2004 22:36:19 GMT -5
really looking for some advice. i have a vibratory tumbler and have been trying for months to polish these colorful agates without success. it is not the shine that is the problem, but a white speckling coming over them, only when they have dried. When they are wet, the white pigment is not present, but as soon as they dry, it appears again...the rocks have many colors, and only one seems to come out without this. it is a churt color, and doesn't seem to pick up this...again, they all shine, but the agates are ruined by simply drying...the white pigment appears, and only moisture seems to bring it back. never seen anything like it...the rocks have many geodes in hem, and don't know if it has something to do with water being trapped in them somehow, or if it just has something to do with the minerals the rocks are made of? any advice would be appreciated...
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on Mar 2, 2004 9:28:08 GMT -5
Hi Mark, Look at the rocks with a jewelers loupe to see what the "white spots" are. If they are actually pits, you should be able to see them with a loupe.
Ron
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donwrob
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2003
Posts: 509
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Post by donwrob on Mar 2, 2004 9:42:27 GMT -5
Hi Mark, that is a baffler buddy. I had probably the same thing happen to me with a load of slag glass I did. I called it gaulding for lack of a better word. Sounds like exactly the same thing. And like yours it was only certain colors that it happened to. They were near perfect wet, but when dry the white 'frosting' showed up. I blaimed it on the certain colors of glass that it happened to were of a different hardness or their make-up required a different type of polish, but I am just guessing. I just ended up oiling the frosted pieces and moving on because it was driving me nuts! ;D
A couple of questions for you, what kind of polish did you use? Was it a full load in the vib? And did you use nylon beeds? Was the load a mixed load or all Savannah agate? Good luck, I hope you find an answer, ttyl, Don
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Post by stoner on Mar 2, 2004 23:08:35 GMT -5
If you can't find a solution to your problem, you can use these rocks in an aquarium.
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