Suppose I just want to put a nice, shiny surface on some nephrite
jade. Can I do any better than a coat of epoxy? If so, it worth the
extra expense?
Suppose I just want to put a nice, shiny surface on some nephrite jade. Can I do any better than a coat of epoxy? If so, it worth the extra expense?
An actually polished surface will probably look significantly better
than a coated one, but if the size or shape of your piece of
nephrite precludes this, then a resin coat of some sort might be next
best. Instead of epoxy, however, I’d suggest one of the polyester
based resins, such as the ones used for fiberglass, or for casting
“imbedments”. These resins tend to be clearer, less yellow, than
epoxies, and stay that way longer. They also have somewhat higher
refractive indexes, and are a bit harder, so the surface coating
looks better too. The difference between common epoxies (at least,
the ones that claim to be reasonably clear in color) and polyester
resins, though, might not be that great, so if the epoxy is easier
or you already have it, then might as well use it. Try a small area
first and see if you like the result. If the surface is already
reasonably smooth, so less in need of the “leveling” effect of the
above resins, you might just try simpler one part solutions from the
paint store. You can get gloss spray on plastic enamels from the
paint or hardware store that are specifically intended to give a
clear finish to things, in your choice of matte or gloss. Even plain
polyurethane clear varnish doesn’t look too bad for such things
(again, make sure it’s reasonably colorless).
Whatever method you try, I’d suggest testing on a small area, and
letting it fully dry or cure, before coating a larger piece or one
from which it would be harder to remove a coating if you didn’t like
the result.
Peter Rowe
Re getting a polished surface on nephrite, I would not use any
permanent or semi-permanent surface such as epoxy or resin or
lacquer. I would look for a very good hard wax such as used in
sculpturing. Go to Sculpt Nouveau - Patinas and Metal Finishes
they have some very durable waxes. Of course, a lot depends on the
size, shape of the item and what you intend to do with it. Is it
going to be outside, inside, on display, etc etc. Nonetheless, wax
can be easily removed if needed whereas the others may be very
difficult to remove should they begin to look shabby or whatever.
Cheers from Don in SOFL.
Suppose I just want to put a nice, shiny surface on some nephrite jade. Can I do any better than a coat of epoxy? If so, it worth the extra expense?
I work with nephrite (with fairly low-end tools and methods) a fair
amount. I get my best results with stepping through the grits to 600,
then I go to tripoli, (I know, heresy…) then I work at it with tin
oxide charged onto bamboo points (I mostly do small carvings), with a
final pass with ZAM… I get a nice gloss, that ages nicely with
handling.
Ron Charlotte – Gainesville, FL
Try a final of chrome oxide