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Polishing conundrum
I'm trying to streamline my processes and timings and would like some advice please.
Atm, I polish the edges of 1mm thick 14mm wide ag discs using my fine sander rolls. https://www.cooksongold.com/Jeweller...prcode-999-123
Once sanded, I usually move onto my polisher, using luxi polish, blue and white, then they get tumbled for 15mins, to finish off.
Do I need to omit any of these processes, or are any of them cancelling each other out?
Thanks in advance.
Jules
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I’ve never used a tumbler so this may be rubbish but do you need to tumble after polishing, is it not either or?
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Hi Caroline,
Thanks for your reply.
What do you use for polishing flat items Caroline?
I use my tumbler for my chainmaille daily, so tend to just put things in there without really thinking about it. However, I am also aware that you can get pitting if you add flat items into it, which is why I thought I'd go over to using my mop with the Luxi polish.
Sometimes after polishing with the polishing mop, it hasn't taken out the tiny marks, so maybe I need to polish for longer? (I do wash with soapy water between polishes).
Last edited by Petal; 29-07-2019 at 07:52 PM.
Jules
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Professionals would take flat surfaces to a mirror finish using mops and compounds, but it takes skill, a light touch and constant movement to avoid tramlines appearing.
Tumblers introduce pits, due to the needles, which become clearly visible under magnification and in photographs.
My preferred method is to rub them on MicroMesh sheets, available from Cookson and on line. You put them flat on the bench and rub the piece on it. You only need three or four grades, and the result is mirror like.
It might save your finger nails, to put a piece of BluTack on the back of the sheet as a handle. Dennis
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I’ve never used anything but a bench polished Jules. I used to use tripoli and rouge , a bristle brush with the tripoli. I now use luxi blue and white but still find myself going back sometimes to my original polishes, a lot of people use Menzerna but I haven’t tried it.
I can understand why you use the tumbler for your chainmaille though although 8 have down that on the big one too in the distant past.
This is the finish I can get on a flat surface but it is about moving it about constantly and just comes with a lot of practice. I find it satisfying to get to this stage but then finish was all when I did my training and it’s stuck as a benchmark
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Tumbler will not produce the polish required for high end items tumble polishing is a process to to save time when only average results are required.
To answer your question if you are happy with the lower quality of tumbling then you could omit the buff stage.
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Thanks for the tip Dennis, I've got some micromesh, so will be giving that a go today, with some trial discs.
Thanks for the tip Caroline and also the photos of your beautifully polished work. I'll be polishing some trial discs using this method too.
Bob, I disagree with your comments about tumblers producing average results, but assume its meant regarding using it with flat items? As to using it for chainmaille, which I do 90% of my time, my tumbler produces excellent, high quality results, which I am happy with.
Jules
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