I have several questions and I hope someone can help me. I have
read the archives but I got a little confused.
First I bought some stainless steel shot, but it doesn’t say
stainless. In fact, the man who sold it to me tried to sell me a
rust inhibitor. Any quick way to test if this is stainless?
Second question: I have a Loretone rubber tumber (and I WILL have
stainless shot). What exactly would I put in the tumbler with the
stainless shot if I were tumbling sterling silver jewelry? I don’t
want to get the rubber goo I’ve been reading about.
Third (and last) question: I assume that I will “clean” the shot
after use. What can I clean it with that won’t degrade the rubber
tumbler? Again, I’m assuming that I clean it in the tumbler. If
not, please let me know!
Thank you so much! I’m a VERY beginner at this and need help.
I have several questions and I hope someone can help me. I
have read the archives but I got a little confused. First I bought
some stainless steel shot, but it doesn't say stainless. In fact,
the man who sold it to me tried to sell me a rust inhibitor. Any
quick way to test if this is stainless?
Try a magnet on it. A lot of Stainless in not magnetic or very low
attraction verses something like a steel nail of bolt.
Second question: I have a Loretone rubber tumber (and I WILL
have stainless shot). What exactly would I put in the tumbler with
the stainless shot if I were tumbling sterling silver jewelry? I
don't want to get the rubber goo I've been reading about.
Call Rio or Swest or some other supplier of these tumbling materials
and ask their tech department. Different media AND different metals
take different “soaps”.
Third (and last) question: I assume that I will "clean" the
shot after use. What can I clean it with that won't degrade the
rubber tumbler? Again, I'm assuming that I clean it in the
tumbler. If not, please let me know!
See above. The tumbling solutions should keep your media and parts
clean.
I hope someone can help me. I’ve read your archives and I actually
got more confused. Some people say you do NOT use soap in a
loretone tumbler with stainless shot – and others recommend it!
I have stainless shot and a Loretone rubber tumbler. Can someone
tell me what I should put in with this to burnish small pieces of
sterling silver jewelry? I don’t want the rubber goo I read about.
Also, if you can’t put soap in the tumbler, can someone tell me how
to clean my stainless shot? Do you just rinse it and not clean it
in the tumbler?
I’m VERY new at this and I would appreciate any help I can get –
thank you so much!!
If it’s “bright & shiny” silver - it’s probably stainless.
We have used water and a small amount of Dawn dishwashing soap
for about 4 years and everything has worked great.
Since we use soap, the ph is alkaline and the stainless will
begin to turn a light grayish color over time. It cleans up very
well with lime juice in the tumbler during a 1-2 hour run. This may
not be a “recommmended” procedure; but, we’ve found no ill effects
to the rubber tumbler, the shot, or the jewelry. (Obviously,
there’s no jewelry in the tumbler with the lime juice.)
Just wash it out every 2 hours or so during a run if you’re tumbling
for more than 2 hours and everything should be fine.
I have several questions and I hope someone can help me. I
have read the archives but I got a little confused. First I bought
some stainless steel shot, but it doesn't say stainless. In fact,
the man who sold it to me tried to sell me a rust inhibitor. Any
quick way to test if this is stainless?
Does the container the shot came in say it is stainless? If it
does, it is. If not, it isn’t.
Second question: I have a Loretone rubber tumber (and I WILL
have stainless shot). What exactly would I put in the tumbler with
the stainless shot if I were tumbling sterling silver jewelry? I
don't want to get the rubber goo I've been reading about.
I use the Rio Grand Super sheen polishing soap. Have done so for
several years, and have had no problem with rubber goo.
Third (and last) question: I assume that I will "clean" the
shot after use. What can I clean it with that won't degrade the
rubber tumbler? Again, I'm assuming that I clean it in the
tumbler. If not, please let me know!
Well, first, since it’s stainless and there will be no problem with
rust, it doesn’t need to be cleaned after every use. Just leave it in
the soap in the tumbler. After awhile the soap will get dark (from
the Tripoli and/or rouge that didn’t get washed out of all the little
nooks and crannies), and the soap gradually loses its “oomph”, too.
Just empty the tumbler contents into a sieve (over the sink!), wash
the shot, in the sieve, thoroughly in clear water, rinse out the
tumbler, and then put the shot and some more soap in the tumbler and
you’re ready to go again.
Linda, It sounds to me like the guy who sold you the shot might have
lied. Stainless shot shouldn’t rust, so there’s no need for a rust
inhibitor…but you can definitely get the stainless kind from Rio
or Frei and Borel, just to name a couple.
I have the same Lortone rubber barrel rotary tumbler. If you have
carbon steel shot, the water will turn black, but it is from the
shot not the barrel. If you leave damp carbon steel shot out for a
day, it will turn red with rust. Stainless steel shot works very
well and does not damage the barrel. Fill half of the barrel with
mixed shot (4 lbs), add a tsp. of burnishing powder and add
distilled water to slightly below the level of the shot. Tumble 2-4
hours. After use, pour the shot into a wire mesh kitchen strainer,
rinse under tap water and drain dry. No special storage
requirements. You are really going to like tumble finishing!
Linda, It sounds to me like the guy who sold you the shot
might have lied. Stainless shot shouldn't rust, so there's no need
for a rust inhibitor...but you can definitely get the stainless
kind from Rio or Frei and Borel, just to name a couple.
Stainless steel will definitely rust. it is stain-less not no-stain.
If the conditions are right it will rust.
Linda, From what I understand, the difference between using dish soap
such as Dawn for tumbling and “tumbling powder” (which is what I use,
and I purchased it from Frei and Borel; I’m sure Rio carries it as
well) is that eventually over time, the dish soap will leave a
residue on your shot that needs to be cleaned off. Tumbling powder is
"suspended" in a solution with water, meaning that it will not leave
this residue. If you don’t mind cleaning your shot periodically, I
don’t think there is much difference in the tumbling results, and
soap is very inexpensive. I’ve used dish soap once or twice and had
no problems, but since then I’ve been using the tumbling powder and
have not needed to clean my shot once. I do rinse the inside of the
barrel, with the shot still in it, with tap water once I’m done
tumbling, but that is the only maintenance I’ve had to do in six
months using my tumbler.
It sounds to me like the guy who sold you the shot might have
lied. Stainless shot shouldn't rust, so there's no need for a rust
inhibitor...but you can definitely get the stainless kind from Rio
or Frei and Borel, just to name a couple.
Leah, The guy may not have lied - stainless does not mean rustless.
Stainless and rustless steels are two quite different things with
different alloy compositions. I could go into great detail about the
matallurgy involved and use words like Martenitic and Austenitic
etc., but I think its enought here to be aware that Stainless Steel
may rust and Rustless steel may stain!
Best wishes,
Ian (from the home of ‘special’ steelmaking)
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
etc., but I think its enought here to be aware that Stainless
Steel may rust and Rustless steel may stain!
I have used the same stainless steel shot for 12 years and never had
rust. I use the shot 2-3 times per week. I have had it turn grey and
dull looking.
Rio’s Stratosheen burnishing powder is much better than any dish
soap I have tried, and I tried them all. Much higher luster with
burnishing powder.
I have carbon steel shot, not realizing how much less work stainless
steel shot would be when I purchased the shot some years ago. I store
it in the burnishing compound from Lortone. I used to dry the shot,
but it always got slightly rusty even with drying it in the oven
between uses.
Also when the shot gets gunky I tumble it for awhile (10 mins?
depends on the state of it) in water with a splash of white vinegar.
The vinegar etches off the gunk restoring the shot to a pristine
condition. The burnishing compound will tumble off rust and the
vinegar is a good follow up here to getting it sparkling. I rinse
the vinegar out thoroughly before adding new burnishing compound.
Sparkling shot makes for a faster-cleaner-burnishing-tumbling of your
pieces. In a pinch while traveling/teaching I found that Tom’s
Mouthwash (witch hazel) will clean the shot up also. I imagine that
lemon juice or alcohol would work also. I work in PMC and have found
that I can leave the pieces in with the vinegar tumble and it will
clean the residue off them also, but beware too long a tumble with
the vinegar will clean off any patina.
Feeling the first breath of fall here in Colorado with a spell of
usual cool/rainy days and the smell of damp leaves.
