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Techniques for Collectorspolishing glass
29th Aug 2006 17:07 UTCAnonymous User
the glass is low quality.just shards of wine bottles and water bottles......
i tried aluminum oxide and then a wash with some dish detergent.using rotary tumblers
the finish continues to be dull........not the glossy finish of unprocessed glass.
i will appreciate the solution to this ( no pun intended)........
yours happily in the green playground
gail
29th Aug 2006 17:15 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
http://www.rocktumblinghobby.com/
30th Aug 2006 21:27 UTCWilliam G. Lyon
I assume your problems are mainly in the final polishing stage of tumbling, and that you are getting pretty good results up to that point. You might want to add some plastic beads to prevent your glass from self-scratching while tumbling in the finer stages. Other stuff like walnut shells can work as a buffer in a similar fashion. Some folks add sugar to increase the viscosity. If you google around the internet, you might want to look up the specific tumbling recipes given for polishing apache tears, since this is a pretty good (somewhat harder) analog for bottle glass. (See Bob's Rockshop, Archives)
Your tumbling load should consist exclusively of glass fragments with the same hardness; obviously, you can't mix in harder stuff like agate, and expect the glass to polish. Your tumbler has to be very, very, VERY clean before using it for softer materials like glass. You might also want to try one of the softer polishes like Cerium Oxide for glass ($$$). After that, a final burnish with Ivory flakes, etc.
31st Aug 2006 04:29 UTCAnonymous User
since i posted i read that if your tumble them just with pellets and water then the finish is not frosty like beach glass but keeps the original finish.........just water...sounds unlikely but i'm also going to give it a try.........so in other words .........i'll just tumble freshly broken glass with plain water and pellets.......i'll post the results of this latest idea
thanks again
rocky
31st Aug 2006 13:58 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
31st Aug 2006 19:02 UTCAnonymous User
thanks for trying to lead me straight
rocky
31st Aug 2006 19:15 UTCAnonymous User
I help people polish glass everyday.
If you want to call me I would be glad to give you detailed instructions. I am to slow of a typer to type it all out.
I have been doing tumbling for over 30 years and have done hundreds of pounds of glass.
Rick Dalrymple
801-355-7952
1st Sep 2006 18:48 UTCAnonymous User
yeah ..........a master glass polisher....just who i wanted to talk to.......
thanks for taking the time to post
rocky
5th Sep 2006 16:45 UTCAnonymous User
I have the directions on my blog for making beach glass. If you are trying to polish to a high gloss you just keep going through the steps using Tin oxide for the polish with plastic pellets.
Make sure the barrel is 3/4ths full with the glass and plastic pellets. When you add the water replace 1/2 of it with corn syrup. This thickens up the solution, slowing down the process, which keeps the glass from scratching itself up. If you have 3/4ths full with just the glass, remove some and put in the pellets when you get to the polish stage.
You can also skip the first grit as it leaves deep pits in the rock that take a long time to get out.
If you are doing flat pieces you MUST add small (BB size or platic pellet size) pieces of glass to work their way between to polish the face of the slabs.
http://rocktumblers.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_rocktumblers_archive.html
Do each stage of the process for 3-5 days checking every day once you get to the polish stage.
The polishing stage can take up to 2 weeks alone to get that gloss. If everything has gone right it should take about 5-10 days in the polish.
Rick
30th Apr 2007 03:42 UTCjoanne
30th Apr 2007 11:01 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
For using grit in sand blasting, make sure your nozzle was designed for the appropriate hardness of your sand agent (it can erode the nozzle faster).
10th May 2007 02:37 UTCJoanne
3rd Jun 2007 23:38 UTCJoanne
8th Jun 2007 07:14 UTCRock Currier Expert
I have seen some glass that has been polished quite effectively with hydrofluoric acid, but have never done it myself except to small portions of my eye glasses. Also hydrofluoric acid is a really scary acid to work with and let me assure you, from personal experience, that unless you have been instructed in its use, you should not get involved with this critter. If you have large quantities of glass to polish you may wish to explore this possibility, but if you have just a few pounds to polish, you should probably keep on track with the lapidary option.
Has anyone here had any experience with polishing glass with HF?
16th Jul 2007 18:26 UTCPaula Stalker
16th Jul 2007 20:27 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
25th Dec 2007 21:52 UTCNorm Robar
27th Dec 2007 04:13 UTCAnonymous User
thanks
gail
29th Dec 2007 12:05 UTCAnonymous User
29th Dec 2007 18:53 UTCJohn Truax
30th Dec 2007 02:39 UTCRay Hill Expert
I wonder out loud, if I read the queries correctly?...did you have pieces of blown glass and tumbled them to get rid of the sharp edges, BUT, were disppointed that the process took away the original shininess of the glass pieces...??
if all you want to do is take away the sharp edges, but keep the original shininess, then may I suggest that you apply gently increasing pressure of gas to a blow torch and run it back and forth along those sharp edges. it will melt the sharpness away and yet maintain the original shininess and essential shape of the original shards..
It can't hurt to try it out on a few small pieces to find out the right temperature and pressure of gas that melts and softens the edges without melting the entire piece...
Just a thought.
Ray
6th Jan 2009 02:30 UTCss
I just accidentally found your blog discussing polishing beach glass.
New to this. I have a new tumbler (never have used it...not sure what to do)
I would like to just put some shine on the beachglass I have found. Any EASY and relatively
simple ways to do this?
Thanks for your help.
13th Feb 2009 17:30 UTCRock Polishing
27th Jan 2010 13:58 UTCbhavin
I'm using polishing machine which is simply rocking rubber wheel i need to know what are the steps of polishing and what are the chemicals used in polishing in every step the right quantities to be used. should I add any smaller size round beads to give round effect as a result?
please any good information or advice will be appreciated
27th Jan 2010 13:59 UTCbhavin
I'm using polishing machine which is simply rocking rubber wheel i need to know what are the steps of polishing and what are the chemicals used in polishing in every step the right quantities to be used. should I add any smaller size round beads to give round effect as a result?
please any good information or advice will be appreciated
30th Jan 2010 16:10 UTCJamey Swisher
26th Apr 2010 18:42 UTCHeidi
Bought a 60lb plus piece of glass rock. It is leftover glass from windows, they sell to tourists. Want to sand it up and polish it, and set it by my swimming pool.
Any advice ? We have been using a drummel with a fine stone for the edges and a sandpaper tip for the surface. Seems to scratch it up. HELP!
Thanks, Heidi
30th Apr 2010 17:35 UTCDonald Slater
30th Apr 2010 19:33 UTCDonald Slater
4th Aug 2010 14:04 UTCLapidaryMadness
Rock Polishing Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If you check out my rock polishing blog, you'll
> find all the answers u need there
5th Aug 2010 04:24 UTCJamey Swisher
11th Apr 2012 18:21 UTCJenny
My inquiry is: I do art and would like to do a glass mosaic on a French Glass Dividing Wall I have between my kitchen and living room. I have not worked with to much glass when it comes to art but I have broken up colored glass pieces(from bottles, vases, etc.). I do not own a tumbler to smooth out my broken glass and it is far to much work to individually sand hundreds of small pieces with sand paper. I dont have an oven to heat up to 2100 degrees or what have you. I have a blow torch, oven, microwave, somewhat regular household items. I want to do it right, but when the muse calls, I like to jump into it. Any suggestions other then to go out and buy what I need. I just want to round off edges on broken glass without taking 100 years to do so!
Thx- Jennifer
5th Jun 2012 19:57 UTCTim Jokela Jr
You do not want to individually grind and polish each piece.
You do not want to buy a tumbler.
You want it done right, and right now, without wasting any time.
May I suggest trying magic?
If that doesn't work, make a very modest investment in a decent tumbler and range of grits. It really is a very, very simple process, and glass is soft so it won't take that long.
This website has everything you'll ever need to know about tumbling:
http://rocktumblinghobby.com/
5th Jun 2012 21:35 UTCAmir C. Akhavan Expert
This is supposedly rounding off the edges by dissolution of the glass.
Maybe add some baking soda, as alkaline solutions will speed up the dissolution.
I've seen that in a TV science show many years ago.
It was said to be a technique occasionally used by people who show off walking on glass sherds with their naked feet.
The look of the glass sherds is basically unaffected.
So this is no replacement for tumbling.
You might give it a try.
I have not tried it myself, so don't ask me for details.
19th Feb 2013 21:38 UTCLinda Carnicelli
20th Feb 2013 09:01 UTCRock Currier Expert
2nd May 2014 03:30 UTCBarb Murrin
- What tumbler would you recommend for this?
- Ground corncobs - Do you let the cobs dry and then grind them up somehow, or can you buy them ground and ready to go? If you grind them yourself, how do you go about it?
Thank you for your assistance.
Barb
2nd May 2014 13:27 UTCRock Currier Expert
How large are the glass pieces you want to "round"? If they are too large, putting them in a tumbler will cause them to break and chip each other. Putting ground up corn cobs in the tumbler will "cushon" them from bashing against each other to some extent. If you are going to round them you will have to put in an abrasive media that will grind away the sharp edges, but it will also dull the shiny surface of the glass and leave you with a mate finish. To get them shiny again? you will need to use progressively finer grits and finally a polishing powder, being careful to clean them and your tumbler between each step to make sure that you remove all the abrasive media from the previous step. Glass is real easy to work with. I might suggest you use a sanding disk and you manually sand the edges a little bit to break the sharp edges, if that is what you want. If you need the edges polished, you can pretty easily polish it using a leather or felt buff and something like tin oxide or aluminium oxide after a quick once over with 600 grit paper. Depending on the degree of roundness you want you might even be able to break the edges enough with a 600 grit disk.
9th Jan 2016 18:26 UTCUbermut
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Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: May 15, 2024 03:04:29