The jeweler I was apprenticed to some years ago, used a mix of 1/2
dish soap & 1/2 sudsy ammonia. A little strong to the nose, but
works like a champ. Hot water, and a bit of this mix is great. I
use it to clean off all polishing compounds. I also will put a bowl
of hot water, and the soap/ammonia mix next to the buffer, so as I
finish a piece, I just drop it in. When I get finished with all the
buffing, I take it over to the sink, and finish cleaning. I do have
to use a toothbrush on some of my work because it has lots of little
crevasses, and nooks to hold the compound in. (And, yes this is
generally all before I have set stones, so as not to worry about
damaging them)
aj
A while ago on Orchid I read a tip which gave me a forehead-smacking
moment of revelation: use an electric toothbrush with an old soft
head to clean polishing compound out of deep cast details and
crevasses. It’s made a big difference in my cleanup!
janet
Janet, In addition to the electric toothbrush, I use a water pick
device attached to my faucet to really get in-between crevices.
I regularly immerse my stainless woven watch band in jewelry cleaner
and then use the stream of water to really clean out the gunk, works
great. Teresa
All, Quest makes a great toothbrush (Spin Brush Pro) which can be
used to remove polishing compound from jewelry. The head consists
of two sections, one rotates and the other section reciprocates. It
is power by AA batteries. You can buy replacement heads. It costs
around $6.00. The bristles can be either soft or hard. You might
want to try it. Lee Epperson