Rio's polishing pins

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi,

Has anyone used the polishing pins that rio sells(page 381 Tools)?
Which works best, the 2 or 3 mm? Would you buy them again to polish
around prongs? Or have you found that the 3m radial brissle brushes
are better for that sort of thing?

2 
   Has anyone used the polishing pins that rio sells(page 381
Tools)? Which works best, the 2 or 3 mm? Would you buy them again
to polish around prongs? Or have you found that the 3m radial
brissle brushes are better for that sort of thing?

The polishing pins (little rubber abrasive rods) and radial bristle
brushes are used for different types of surfaces. Anything you can
reach with the bristle brushes (or any rotary brush, for that matter)
will be polished better by those tools. The pins are used for those
times when a larger tool cannot reach it, such as the inside of a
hole, the inner surface of a standard head or a tube, or the bottom
of a small depression. The diameter of the pin is less an issue,
since you usually sharpen or shape the end of the pin to match what
you’re trying to reach. A bullet point, for example, is the same at
it’s working end for both sizes. Choose the size according to the
average size of the features your working with, or simple preference.
The larger ones can be used on larger features without having to
move the end of the pin around so much, so might be faster in those
situations, while the smaller ones are quicker to shape and get into
small openings. Personally, I happen to use the smaller size more.

Peter