Sharon - to remove the investment on such a detailed piece, I’d use a magnetic pin finisher. Use a machine that is large enough for your pieces to move freely.
Judy H
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Ron Meixner - You have most of the process for high polish - Here’s what i think you are missing - before you run any grinding/abrasive process, run the pieces first in your rotary with steel for 30 to 45 minutes. then proceed thru your necessary abrasive media - Even with cast work, I very seldom need three abrasive processes. Pick abrasives that are appropriate to your metal - Then when your pieces feel smooth, almost soft, run them again in steel for 45 minutes. what you will have then is an unrefined burnished surface. to finally get to a high polish, run your pieces in dry media for 24 to 36 hours. I like Diamond pacifics Vibra-dry 50,000. It is an unusual mix of materials that is safe for nearly all materials and stones. The final lengthy run is necessary only for high polish but extremely effective.
If your work is heavy, choose a grinding media that is appropriate for your work. Lightweight plastic media such as the common green triangles isn’t effective for heavy intricate work. also be thoughtful about the media shapes you are using - you can’t polish rounded surfaces with flat media.
Judy H
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Sue Sutton - running work in steel for extended periods of time damages the surface and you get all kinds of weirdness. also run with a clean solution designed for steel. A drop of Dawn doesn’t cut it. Most every jewelry equipment supplier has a formulated solution for their media - including stainless steel.
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Sharon R, Just a thought on the steamer… If you have cappuccino maker, you have a steamer. It is not as large as the one most shops have, but it works.
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Hi Judy,
You just reminded me of something i learned/ experienced…back in the day, when striving for a flat mirror finish…
Sterling silver is soft, and it is hard to achieve what I call a hot white high mirror polish on it…I am guessing that a hard(er)/ burnished surface will result in a higher mirror finish…
…I had ordered “dead soft” pre-cut discs once, and received what I believed to be “half hard” by mistake…they resulted in a less than desirable pantograph drag “engraving” (a lot of “chatter” jagged) but were much easier to attain a high polish on…(before engraving)
…I was assured that they were dead soft, but possibly harder than dead soft do to the hardening effect of being die struck cut out…
on a side note, the deep surface damage/gouges on the pre-cut discs were also outside of my acceptable quality range…
so, I reverted to ordering sheet and cutting my own discs…
julie
Hi Sharon,
on a side note, what type of ultrasonic did you use? I believe the smaller, more portable jewelry cleaning ultrasonics are not as powerful, or as hot!…as the bigger units…
I have run thru a few of the below over the years…my first 2 lasted many, many years…the later replacements only lasted 1-2 years…in need of a new unit…any brand model recommendations would be greatly appreciated
not sure if this one has “good action”…with regard to compound removal, I do try to remove most before ultrasonic and do not expect the ultrasonic to do more than it was designed for…
this unit was inexpensive, and I wanted separate units for pre-polish and polish…back in the day when I was trying to solve a finishing issue…bizarre white “cloudy” areas on my silver surfaces…possibly having surface abrasion due to compounds suspended in solution and cavitating around the pieces…)
(I have yet to solve that mystery…My best guess to date is finger oils on the silver when polishing…white cotton glove tips kinda resolved if…sort of…not totally…)
(omg I am having PTSD thinking about this…brings back the struggle! haha! I can think about it now, but at the time, that rabbit hole turned into a gopher colony maze!)
regarding steamers:
in my personal opinion, steamers are indispensable when aiming for a mirror finish on pieces with broad flat surfaces…in addition to blowing away debris, the also dry the piece instantly, leaving no water marks…
i tried the dragon “on demand” atmospheric steamer. because i liked the idea of not having a steel tank that rusts and needs “blowing out”…but I felt a lack of control on the steam stream which resulted in big moisture droplets…for me…
My friend’s friend sold me a used Reimers steamer for $500…it was 20 years old at the time, and had just been refurbished by Progress Tools…(that also dates it…they closed years ago)…it is still going strong…and I don’t think I would want to live without it…
I had not realized my need for a steamer, until my friend walked me thru his process for mirror finishing flat pieces…so I thought I would share here…it falls into the expensive but really usegul category of tools…same category as rolling mills…
here is a link to a newer unit:
Julie
Judy… I remember reading that in your book and tying it. I will try again now that I have all my tumblers on one cart that is wired and plumbed. Thanks…ob
That is very interesting. It’s usually only a half hour or so, although I make my earwires and they go in longer. I’m curious, what sort of visible difference would there be using a special solution, vs Dawn? Thanks, Sue