I didn't know that Fabuluster shouldn't be used on silver . .. what am I going to do with the tube of the stuff I just ordered??? Will it work on Brass, Copper or Nickel-silver??? Stones? Tks
That’s not to say that you can’t use it on silver. Just be
careful not to use too much, and don’t let the piece get too
hot. I prefer to work a little faster and my fingers are like
leather so the piece gets real hot.
Brett
Slpit Image Contracting
For all the years I've been doing jewelry work, I've never succeeded in getting a mirror polish on a flat disc of sterling. There always seems to be lines, or scratch marks on the piece when I'm finished. Any professional hints?
Hi Allan,
I had the same problem with silver and the tiny scratches. When I
engrave silver most of the time I make no mistakes, BUT not
always. We also do lot of platinum work in the shop so we have
the new Japanese platinum buffing compounds around. I’ve made
the rest of guys keep it separate and don’t allow the buff to be
used for anything else except platinum, the bars are expensive.
BUT I had these little scratches in silver. So I took a small
silver buff and cleaned it out with a buff rake and used 8000
platinum polish. Yippee, Yip,Yip,Yahooo! It works! This
certainly made my day. So try it, use it, you’ll like it. Jim
alpine@hay.net
don't let the piece get too hot. >>
Giggle, giggle, giggle, what is TOO HOT??? It gets very hot no
matter what one uses!!! HOT: meaning, you have a tough time
handling it! Too hot??? Does that mean that it continues to
polish itself once your fingers leave the piece??? (giggle!!!)
Clean again and rouge. If the lines you are talking about are faint and shallow then this step is your problem. You must use a clean soft buff and not too much rouge. The most common error people make when polishing is useing too much rouge. Just a quick touch on the buff will do it. For the buff you want a soft cotton buff.
The final lines are my problem. Usually after tripoli, the
piece has a matt dull finish, without showing any scratches at
all. I have not tried to use a new or clean buff, always using
the same buff I use for gold rings, etc. I’ll try to use a fresh
buff next time. Thanks Allan
Hi all good people out there
I spend less time with the Gray Star which leaves a pretty good shine by itself. Zam takes very little time. I do not like rouge at all. I don't like to buff, it's a dirty process and rouge is really dirty.
I agree and so does my wife (we share our studio and she’s into
paintings). The rouge gets to everywhere including my wifes
work…
Now, is there really a replacement to rouge on silver, a
replacement less “red” and if so, can you please describe it as
the stuff seldomly is called the same way over here (Sweden). (I
never heard of Zam)… RGDS Lars Dahlberg
Giggle, giggle, giggle, what is TOO HOT???? It gets very hot no matter what one uses!!! HOT: meaning, you have a tough time handling it! Too hot??? Does that mean that it continues to polish itself once your fingers leave the piece??? (giggle!!!)
Sorry to give you such a laughing attack! Too hot is when the
Fabulustre forms a hard shell on the metal and the more you try
to buff through it the harder it gets. By the way, I’ve played
around trying to get an idea of how hot the metal gets at the
point of contact when polishing. I wasn’t too precise with the
measurement but it was at least 350f.
Brett
Split Image Contracting
The final lines are my problem. Usually after tripoli, the piece has a matt dull finish, without showing any scratches at all. I have not tried to use a new or clean buff, always using the same buff I use for gold rings, etc. I'll try to use a fresh buff next time. Thanks Allan
I failed to mention that the quality of the rouge matters as
well. I have tried several different rouges and found that some
of them have contaminates in them. The most consistant one I’ve
found is the water soluble that Gesswein carries. The fact that
it’s water soluble makes clean up faster as well. While on the
subject, I have also tried green rouge, black rouge and white
rouge on silver, I have always prefered red.
Brett
Split Image Contracting
Brett, thank you for the very informative reply! I didn’t know
that Fabulster could do that!!!
Thanks again!
Now, is there really a replacement to rouge on silver, a replacement less "red" and if so, can you please describe it as the stuff seldomly is called the same way over here (Sweden). (I never heard of Zam)... RGDS Lars Dahlberg >>
I use ZAM all the time. It’s a light green in colour, is a bit
more abrasive than pumice, and leaves a beautiful finished shine!
It is usually purchased in a tube (cut off the cardboard around
the edge, power up the buffer, load onto the buff and you’re on
your way!)
It doesn’t fly around as much as bobbing compound does (or
perhaps, I just don’t see what is flying around?!? :~) )
Hi, thanks for the tip - I’ll ask my local supliers to se if
they can get ZAM for me. I assume I have to get a new set of
buffs - my red ones won’t do - right?
About the flying around - I’ll be glad to come back and tell -
I’ll certainly be told back at my studio.
Greetings Lars Dahlberg
I just received samples of polishing wheels which I thought did
a pretty good job without using bobbing, tripoli or rouge
compounds. They were advertised in the July issue of LJ, p 103.
They’re Italian, used to polish gold, silver and brass without
any compound. Come in a variety of grits from fine to extra fine
to high shine. Imported by Pacific Abrasives, 16824 198th Avenue
NE, Woodinville, WA 98072, fax (425)788-7473, elala@aol.com
I emailed for more info and they sent me a sample pack of
polishing discs along with ordering info.
I have absolutely have no relation with this company, am just
passing this along because I liked the fact that they required no
compounds. 
Rita (rd)
I thought that I had read somewhere that Zam is a crocus
compound but I don’t know where I read that. My bobbing compound
is a rather heavy olive colored bar. It’s hard to remove the
residue from the metal.
Marilyn Smith
What i got out of all the silver polishing discussion was 1)
bobbing compound; 2) graystar; 3) rouge or 1) bobbing compound;
2) ZAM; 3) rouge.
Are some using ZAM for a final polish?
I thought that I had read somewhere that Zam is a crocus compound but I don't know where I read that. My bobbing compound is a rather heavy olive colored bar. It's hard to remove the residue from the metal. Marilyn Smith >>
My bobbing compound (from Indian Jeweler’s Supply) is a dark tan
colour. I haven’t had a problem removing the residue, I use
amonia (sp?) and hot water with a soft tooth brush.
I use Zam for the final polish on silver. I think that it’s
cleaner and faster than rouge. Some books talk about rouge
"coloring" the silver. This has never made much sense to me.
Isn’t rouge a form of iron oxide?
Marilyn Smith
Hi Jess, thats what I tried to figure out and I got the response
from "Fishbre396@aol.com" that he/she used ZAM all the time - I
assumed also for finishing!
Regards Lars
What i got out of all the silver polishing discussion was 1)
bobbing compound; 2) graystar; 3) rouge or 1) bobbing compound;
2) ZAM; 3) rouge.
Zam works quite well on harder metals- does a great job on steel
tools like hammers and dapping punches as well as tough polishing
jobs like platinum. I still prefer red rouge for gold alloys,
however,
Rick
Richard D. Hamilton
Fabricated 14k, 18k, and platinum Jewelry
wax carving, modelmaking, jewelry photography
What i got out of all the silver polishing discussion was 1) bobbing compound; 2) graystar; 3) rouge or 1) bobbing compound; 2) ZAM; 3) rouge. Are some using ZAM for a final polish?
Dah, I use bobbing compund, and ZAM and that’s it!!! Shiny as
heck, not a lot of work either. What is rouge supposed to do
(I thought it was supposed to be used on copper and brass, rather
than copper . . .what do I know??)
What is rouge supposed to do (I thought it was supposed to be used on copper and brass, rather than copper . . .what do I know??)
That should have said, “rather than Silver . . .” Sorry . . .