Hi I dont know who will receive this but I have a question. It is
what kind of cleaning detergent can I use in my tumbler that is of
the house hold variety? Im not pollishing stones really just silver.
Please help. -Love Ainsley
aib00@hotmail.com
Hi Ainsley,
It is what kind of cleaning detergent can I use in my tumbler that is of the house hold variety?
You can use any detergent, as long as it’s no (or low) sudsing & has
no grit in it. It doesn’t take much, 3 or 4 drops if liquid or 1/2
teaspoon if dry. It helps to add an oz or 2 of household ammoniato
the brew.
The main purpose of the detergent is to act as lubricant.
Dave
I use quite successfully a generic “Vegetable Oil” soap (Murphy’s),
something fairly natural and without additives and LOW foaming!
Hope this helps, Ed
i have tried many tumbling agents for silver and have found that
plain old grated ivory soap works just as fine as any of the
expensive agents. I unwrap my bar of ivory and let it sit for a
while until it hardens, then grate it into a powdery form and use
it. I have a small tumbler—holds about 2 cups of liquid more or
less. To this I add only one level teaspoon of ivory, my silver
pieces and shot, and just tumble away. it is a nice safe alternative
to the harsh detergents sold for tumbling. I got this hint from a
friend who does marvelous things using low tech equipment, and tools
he has made himself, or which have been modified from tools he gets
at garage sales. Give it a try—Alma
Another possibility is to get a bar of plain Ivory hand soap and
shave off two or three very thin shavings into your tumbler. If, at
the end, there seems to be an excessive amount of soap froth, try
using less Ivory. The only difference is that excess froth may
“cushion” the tumbling action too much, slowing down the polishing (or
whatever) process. If your media and jewelry come out with no froth
and look grey, fear not – just rinse everything off and repeat the
tumbling process, using more soap. Judy Bjorkman
Lenandjudy@acmgfcu.net