Hello,
I ask this question on October 28 to the Technical Group, received boiler plate message. Asking for 48 hours return results. Today is November 15, received nothing. The jewelery group was very nice and I appreciate their suggestions.
I have included my initial question below. This is what I ask the Tech group, didn’t realize how hard it is to get a simple Question answered or even a “REAL HUMAN RESPONSE”
I have asked this question below in the jewelry group of Ganoksin with some great suggestions. That same group said I should also ask question in the “Lapidary group” of Ganoksin. I have spent considerable amount of time trying to locate that specific group in Ganoksin and to no avail, I have not been successful at all. Can someone help and direct me to Lapidary group.
Thanks
Lary
HERE IS THE ORIGINAL QUESTION ASKED THE JEWELRY GROUP back October with several great suggestions. Can someone guide me to the Lapidary Group! PLEASE!!! THANKS!!!
Question I want to ask! Please see below.
I have a question about getting a glass like finish on 100 + years old iron Slag Glass?
My finish sandpaper is 3,000 grit, I want to get a high gloss glass like finish on my finished product. Does anyone have a suggestion on what buff and polish type to use to get this type of high gloss finish?
There are some lapidary people on ganaoksin, myself included, but it appears that you are working in glass. While equipment, materials and processes used to make lapidary and glass cross over, your question might be better directed to people who work in glass. When I can’t get a high gloss finish on a piece of hard quartz based laipary material, it is usually because I took short cuts on the coarser finishing steps. There is also a lot of science and lore to what polishing material to use for finial polish depending on the laipary material being polished. Good luck…Rob
Try a google search for ‘lapidary clubs near me’. You may be able to find one near you, and someone there may be able to answer your questions, and that may depend on the physical nature of your product. The primary products in lapidary are slabs, cabs and spheres, each of which requires unique equipment.
You may have luck contacting HIS Glassworks, they have quite a few videos. A diamond paste and/or cerium oxide may do the trick. They were quite helpful when I reached out to ask about adhesives.
Following is a link to a directory of rock and mineral clubs. There are several more directories to be found. I belong to the Syracuse Gem and Mineral Society…Rob
Thanks, that’s quite a list, Rob. I’m a member of the Maplewood Rock & Gem Club in Edmonds, Washington. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts here for some years now.
After the 3,000 grit sandpaper, work through successive stages of 5,000, 10,000 and 15,000 grit diamond paste on a leather or muslin buff. Final polish with serium oxide on a leather buff.
Depending on the material, I may just run through the NOVA resin wheels and then finish with ceriunm oxide on leather. I will also use Zam on Turquoise after it is set, polishing the stone and the bezel at the same time. For other materials, if I am having trouble getting a good poloish, I will use progressively finer diamond paste to 50,000 on crystal pads. Some jades and nethrite pre-polish well with a worn 600 grit belt and little or no water. Be careful of heat. I don’t know why this works. Maybe it cuts down on orange peel. Lapidary and especially the polishing process is more art than science. For me it is sometimes an exercise in frustration with an occasional moment of joy. I started lapidary after inheriting 100s of pounds of rough stone from my father. It also allows me to do free forms making the most of the original shape of the stone and then making a piece of jewelry that best fits the stone. Lots of fun…Rob
Sooooo I dunno if this helps, I took some faceting classes in Philly PA area and so have some exp in lapidary arts. Luckily we were trained on glass - I can say that we used corundum paste on a ceramic wheel(Ultra-tec) to polish our faceted glass stones. I dunno if this helps. good luck!
