In the past I have been testing a number of polish and grits to better my tumbled stones.. I recall purchasing the four pack from Lortone which contain four different grades of grit and polish. I was pleased with three out of the four products. The final stage or the polish compound was a bit undecidable.. it left a milky haze over the stones as well as leaving the white powder in the some of the cracks and channels.
This lead me to search for something better.. and located "Cerium oxide" orange in color and offed a very fine sheen on all types of stones..
Here is a tip.. which I will document in my next batch.
Of course making sure you have the stones spectated according to hardness and offer a few different sizes.
Instead of doing stage one.. rough grit first.. separate the stones according to harness.. then dry tumble them to smooth out the edges or simply cut and shape with a diamond blade or slab saw. I'm attempting to get the stones in a general shape and size I'm looking for to suit my needs.. After the dry tumble or cutting the stones to shape.. you can then proceed to the first stage (rough grit).
Each stage afterward should take approx. 7 days checking every other day.. or simply letting the tumbler go. One you have reached the polishing stage.. You then would place plastic beads or pellets in the tumbler along with the stones and about 6 table spoons of the polish and again allow to tumble for the alloted time. Using the cerium Oxide instead of the aluminum oxide will increase the luster and not leave the white milky residue on the stones..
One thing to keep in mind.. I do not have any polishing tools or equipment and I'm searching for ways to polish "extreme" cut and shaped stones.. I have found that its becoming hard for em to locate a proper technique in doing this but may have some clues very soon. Also lacking rough grit.. I'm unable to continue the next stage in many of my projects.. Perhaps I'll be able to acquire some more grit very soon.
Because of my physical limitations, I'm desperately seeking dop wax to better some of my cutting and shaping of these stones.. As you may note in another forum post: "
Project Aquamarine" I have taken the time to hand cut this stone but without any accuracy.. granted I originally wanted the stone to appear somewhat "Romanestic" and it would seem its heading in that general direction.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2009 04:13PM by Wizard Stone.
