Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Collect the rocks you want to polish. Make sure they are all about the same hardness before putting them in the tumbler. Fill the tumbler about 1/2 to 3/4 full with different sized rocks. Add enough water to cover the rocks.
Put in some coarse grit and plastic pellets. Turn on the rotary tumbler. This will simulate the ocean's waves washing over the rocks. The grit helps smooth the surface of the rocks. The plastic pellets cushion the rocks so they don't pit, break or crack.
Turn off the rock tumbler daily during the first week and clean out the sludge. Do this by using a strainer held over a throwaway container or bucket. Discard the sludge and skim off the pellets with a large spoon or net. Check the rocks. Put the pellets and more fresh water back in. Start tumbling again.
Stop the tumbler after one week. Wash the stones. Then put them back in with a medium abrasive grit and water. Tumble for another week.
Repeat the previous step, but add some pre-polish fine grit and water. Tumble the rocks for another seven to 10 days.
Use a soft wet towel and some of the polishing compound to shine the rocks after about a month of tumbling. If they look smooth and shiny, you know the rocks are ready to polish.
Buff the surface of the rocks with polish powder. There are several kinds of polish. Aluminum oxide, tin oxide and cerium oxide are a few. Add a tablespoon of the polish powder for each pound of rocks. Tumble until rocks are polished well.