Hi,Can anyones show me how to polish the 24k gold ring or any tools
that I need to polish it. Thank you!Felix
Hi,Can anyones show me how to polish the 24k gold ring or any tools that I need to polish it. Thank you!Felix
24 K gold can be somewhat “gummy” to polish on a buff, though it
certainly can be polished this way, the same as other jewelry metals.
but it’s softness also means that it’s really easy to burnish, and
the level of polish you get on 24K seems somehow higher with a
burnished finish than you’ll get with buffing. Any hand burnisher
with a really well polished end, will quickly leave a nice bright
sparkly surface. A lubricant may help when you burnish. A
burnished surface looks slightly different from a buffed one, since
it’s got lots of seperate little surfaces blending together, almost
like multiple facets. If you want the very smooth look of a
traditionally polished surface, rather than the bright sparkly look
of a burnished one, then I’ve found the harder polishing compounds
intended for platinum, especially the aluminum oxide based ones sold
by Gesswein, seem particularly good and removing scratches and the
like without causing drag lines. If you combine the techniques,
first burnishing, and then buffing, you’ll get a higher polish than if
you just start with buffing, since burnishing compresses the metal so
you’re sure there’s no porosity to aggrevate those drag lines in
buffing. In many ways, buffing 24K is quite like buffing platinum
alloys, though it’s faster.
Peter
My favorite polishing tools for 24k come from my local “Dollar
Store”. I buy packages of nail buffers sold for the beauty supply
industry. These buffers have four surfaces, one is emery, the other
three are various degrees of bufffers, the softest of which provides
a beautiful final luster to gold. These work great on PMC projects
(gold or silver)as well.
You cannot polish 24kt. gold in the usual meaning of the word. To
some degree 22kt. also. You have to burnish it. Trying to polish
24k on buffing wheels will quickly remove your gold without ever
getting a real shine. It’s just too soft. You can put your piece in
a tumbler with steel shot, but you have to be very careful, and keep
close tabs on it. Where a 14kt. ring might go for 2 hours, your 24kt
is more like 10 minutes, and every additional minute counts a lot.
Mostly, though, you need to make sure that your surfaces are even and
regular (filing, sanding), and then get a burnisher or burnishers,
and start rubbing. I think many people misunderstand burnishing and
bear down on it too hard. In 24k it’s not so much about pressure as
just a firm, even rubbing - you’ll see as you do it. I’ve done quite
a lot of 24k, and as far as I’ve found, there is no better way - it’s
also the traditional way. Sorry, no “Magic Bullet”, here, just
good ol’ elbow grease.
I would suggest you clean it up as best you possibly can and then
burnish it. 24K is easy to burnish, does not take too much time for
such a small piece and you take advantage of the wonderful effect of
bunished pure gold. No other material will look the same as this.
I also use the nail buffers on 24kt gold for a lovely finish. They
work great on platinum too.
Karen Hemmerle
If what you want to achieve is a mirror-finish polish, then the
suggestions you’ve already received about burnishing and polishing
are fine. If, however, you would be happy with a shiny – but not
mirror-finish – effect, there is another way to go.
I almost never touch my polishing machine anymore. I “polish” all
of my pieces, including 22K bezels, with a brass bristle brush on a
flexshaft machine. This actually puts tiny scratches in the metal –
and you have to move the tool in just one direction or you get
cross-hatching – but it leaves the surface very bright and shiny.
Beth