Att Poppy (or anyone that can help) I was very excited to see your
comments on the magnetic finisher. I have tried 5 times to use a
magnetic finisher with no joy at all !I have been using the RAYTECH
unit. The only thing that happens is the pins keep on turning black
and the pieces have no change to them at all. I am tring to achieve a
shiny surface on the hard to reach places. The pieces are castings
and possibly might have been soldered on, however they would have
been well pickled, buffed etc etc. I realize that the finisher is not
used to “cut” but it is not doing a thing! All I want is to improve
the shine!!! The supplier here in Australia is no help at all he just
doesn’t have a clue. Is there possibly a problem with the pins? Please
Help Thanks Alan Goldberg
Dear Alan, When using any kind of steel media in a mass finishing
cycle, you must have a compound (or soap) as part of the solution or
you will have a darkening effect on your pieces and steel. A
burnishing compound is used to keep the media and parts clean and to
facilitate the flow of the pieces through the solution. If you use
this solution too long, it will also darken. You might try another
supplier there or contact Rio Grande on the States for a proper
burnishing compound. You can check the Rio website at
www.riogrande.com and you will find everything you need. Hope this
helps! Sincerely, Joe Lovato Neutec/USA
I have tried 5 times to use a magnetic finisher with no joy at all !I have been using the RAYTECH unit. The only thing that happens is the pins keep on turning black)
Alan, Two years ago I got my Raytech magnetic unit and had the same
trouble of turning black and the solution was to use coke-a-cola and a
drop of liquid detergent to clean up the pins. You may have to do
this several times befor they get clean. I now use the same all the
time coke and a drop or two of detergent( I have been using an
antibactierial so no slime mold develops) and everything is working
great and couldn’t live without my finisher. It seems that the
phosphoric acid(that eats up your teeth) keeps the oxcids from
developing and keeps the pins very bright and so your jewelry. Check
the archives from two years ago and see all the help I got with the
same problem. Even my supplier called and said he saw that I had
found the solution on Orchid. Any problems contact me off list. Ron
Kreml
I now use the same all the time coke and a drop or two of detergent....
Alan, I forgot to tell you that I use about a third to one half a can
of coke and a drop or two of detergent with water to make a correct
level of liquid. I have been using this formula increasing it when
there is more items and decreasing it when small amounts to be
polished. Every so often I clean the bowl with antibacterial soap and
run through a cycle to clean bowl and Pins. This has been very!!!
successful for production of silver and gold. I have found no need to
neutralize the pickling other than rinsing in good clean water. Every
time I solder and want to finish to an acceptable shine I use my
finisher…I love it still… Ron Kreml
Hi Ron,
I have tried 5 times to use a magnetic finisher with no joy at all! I have been using the RAYTECH unit. The only thing that happens is the pins keep on turning black) Alan, Two years ago I got my Raytech magnetic unit and had the same trouble of turning black and the solution was to use coke-a-cola and a drop of liquid detergent to clean up the pins. You may have to do this several times before they get clean.
The following is another way to clean steel pins or shot.
-
Drain the liquid from the tumbler.
-
Add some clean water. About the same as for tumbling if using
pins; enough to cover 1/2 the shot if using shot. -
Add several tablespoons of lye (sodium hydroxide) or crystal
Draino. Both of these are available at hardware stores. -
Run the machine for 1/2 - 1 hour.
-
Discard the liquid down any drain that’s available. Be careful
when handling the solution as it’s VERY caustic. Wash any off that
gets on you with soap & water immediately. -
Clean out the container with clear water.
-
Rinse the pins or shot in clear water & return to the tumbler.
-
Repeat the process any time the pins or shot become grungy looking
or don’t seem to be burnishing as well.
This procedure works equally well on carbon & stainless steel.
Dave
Hi Alan, I’m not sure if you’ve already had this question answered
or not but I’m just catching up on my Orchid emails and I’m only on
the 15th of May. About your pins turning black and not doing
anything. Take a can of Coke, must be classic, not diet or anything
else. Empty your finisher except for the pins and fill to the water
line. Be sure and leave the lid off when you first turn it on or it
will fizz up and spill all over. I speak from experience. After it
bubbles up it will calm back down and you can put the lid on. Run it
for a half an hour or more. It will turn your pins back to the
normal steel color. You can throw in some jewelry while you’re at it
and it will turn out bright and shiny. Then just empty the coke,
rinse thoroughly and refill with water. Are you using the few drops
of soap or whatever it is they sell to put in this thing? The coke
just eats the discoloration right off of the pins. Now just think
what it eats off of your stomache! Scary huh? If you have a lot of
solder on your work this might be your problem. Your water will have
to be changed fairly often. But it does turn black as you use it.
This should take care of any problems I would think. I love mine.
Hope this helps. Sincerely, Poppy www.jewelrybypoppy.com
Hi Kate,
I am sure there must be an equivalent that we can buy in quantity at the hardware store for a fraction of the price (my buddy Noah recommended TSP). I imagine I can substitute a good quality dish soap for the liquid soap that comes with the unit....
I’d bet every mfg uses a different formulation. You’re quite right,
good old dishwashing detergent (get a low sudsing variety) or plain
old rubbing alcohol will do.
I saw a demo of a magnetic finisher where the demonstrator had just
filled the tub with tap water, dropped in the pins & turned the unit
on. The action was rediculous, the pins just sat there. Then he
added a few drops of Jet Dri (the same stuff that’s added to
diswashers to keep the glasses from spotting)& the transformation
was amazing. Everything took off like it was supposed to. He
indicated he’d tried soap, rubbing alcohol & detergent, but Jet Dri
(Dry?)seemed to work the best for him. His demo unit was a small
(about 1 quart) unit.
All that’s needed is a good wetting agent to make the water
‘slippery’.
Dave
Yes Kate there was a thread long ago when I bought my first magnetic
finisher and I had trouble with the pins getting gray with some sort
of residue and the finishing changed for the worse suddenly. John
Burgess, Elaine at Gesswien, and a fellow from Scotland all suggested
adding a bit of Coke-a-cola to clean things up …and it did
amazingly. I now use along with 90% water a dash of Coke every time
and occasionally will run the cycle with Mr. Clean or just a couple
of sprays of Windex to clean the tub. I have had great success with
this method for over two years now. I also use a pair of plastic
tweezers to retrieve items so that the slightly magnetic pins don’t
stick to metal tweezers. The use of Coke really utilizes the
Phosphoric acid in coke(even Pepsi or any other drink with
phosphoric acid) to reverse the reverse plating that can occur…and
alternating with a base solution helps the whole process. But I
wouldn’t have known any of this without the help of others…thanks
group! Ron Kreml…sunny snowy so cold(for now) Texas
Would Jet Dri be fine then for a vibratory tumbler using steel shot=
? Marilyn
Hi Marilyn,
Would Jet Dri be fine then for a vibratory tumbler using steel shot?
It may. Jet Dri is really a surficant & makes the water ‘wetter’.
Usually what’s needed in a vibratory (rotaries too)tumbler is
something to act as a lubricant, the soap/detergent provides the
lubricity.
Jet Dri may also provde the necessary lubricity. Why not just try a
few drops on a couple of pieces of scrap sheet, wire or casting
buttons to see. All that you have to loose is a little time.
Dave