Rotary tumbling with stainless shot

Jewelry Discussion
1

I just acquired a small rotary tumbler to use with stainless steel
shot. My first overnight run with sterling resulted in both the
sterling and the shot oxidizing. I assume this was some reaction
between the rubber barrel and the soap I was using. My question is:
what is the most effective way to clean the oxidation off of the shot
and restore the high polish it arrived with?

L.F. Brown

2 
I just acquired a small rotary tumbler to use with stainless steel
shot. My first overnight run with sterling resulted in both the
sterling and the shot oxidizing.  I assume this was some reaction
between the rubber barrel and the soap I was using.  My question
is: what is the most effective way to clean the oxidation off of
the shot and restore the high polish it arrived with?

Whenever I need to clean my shot, rather it be rust or oxidization,
I use flat Coca Cola. I run it in the tumbler for a few hours and
poof! Nice and clean. Rio has a good burnishing compound that works
great. Another suggestion I received on tumble polishing was to use
either Ivory or Dawn (regular, not Ultra) liquid soaps.

Good luck!
Terri Collier
Dallas, TX
@Terri_Collier

3

Ok, I’m not an expert, but I had a few practical ideas. From what
I’ve been told stainless steel shot doesn’t oxidize unless heated or
exposed to pretty serious acid, so you probably had carbon steel
shot. As for the oxidization you could maybe try soaking it in a
penetrating oil for a day or two, then tumble it… just an idea
though, never tried it.

Also, you may want to consider the use of a commercial deburing
solution instead of soap. I use stainless shot in my tumbler and I’ve
never even bothered to dry it, just rinse it well and lay it on some
paper towels. One other thing that may be worth checking is to see if
you really have oxide, or just hard water stains, which can usually
be taken off with vinegar.

Good luck =)
-Doug

4

Hi, I just acquired a small rotary tumbler to use with stainless
steel shot. My first overnight run with sterling resulted in both the
sterling and the shot oxidizing. I assume this was some reaction
between the rubber barrel and the soap I was using. My question is:
what is the most effective way to clean the oxidation off of the
shot and restore the high polish it arrived with?<<

I’d rinse the tumbler & shot with clean water. Then put the shot
back in the barrel, add some Draino or lye (sodium hydroxide) &
water. Put the lid back on & run it for a few hours. When it’s done,
rinse the barrel & shot in plain water & put them back in service.

Dave

5

The first time I used a tumbler no one told me I had to use water or
soap, so I ran it dry with stainless shot. (I have since received
alot of good natured ribbing about it). What a mess! I used acetone
to remove rubber from the shot and the silver (DO NOT USE ON
BARREL!!!). It worked a treat. I now have several Loritone tumblers
and they really help to clean up my jewelry as I do alot of outdoor
shows. I use water and Super Sunsheen burnishing soap available
wherever jewelry supplies are sold.

Hope this helps!
Suzanne

6 
         My question is: what is the most effective way to clean
the oxidation off of the shot and restore the high polish it
arrived with?

Try using Simple Green straight from the bottle. In about 1 hour
all your shot will be clean , shinny and your can disposeof the spent
“simple Green” down the drain.

I do this with my carbon shot about every third or fourth thime I
tumble.

Best of luck
Barb McLaughlin
www.taylorriverjewelrydesign.com

7

To get rid of the oxidation on your stainless shot - rinse the shot
in plain water, then run the shot in the barrel for 45 minutes with
a stale can of Coca Cola. The acid in the coke will clean up your
shot.

To not have it happen again, use a commercial solution made just for
the purpose. I use the burnishing compound from Rio Grande. It is
the right ph, has surficants and some soap in it. All vendors seem
to have their own solution.

Judy Hoch, G.G.
@Judy_Hoch

8

You can run your steel shot in Borax Powdered soap , for an hour or
2 , then change the water and add more borax soap. when the shot is
nice and bright, your done.We run our stainless steel shot in Ajax
Liquid ( lemon scented soap) and have been running the same shot for
about 20 years with no ill effects . We have had to clean it with
borax Maybe every year if the shot got contaminated which is rare
dure to the way we store and clean our shot . There should be quite a
bit on this subject in the archives on orchid.

Daniel Grandi sales@racecarjewelry.com We do casting, finishing,
models, molds, assembly, soldering, fusion, enamelling, and a whole
lot more for designers, stores and people in the trade