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How to Polish Glass With a Rock Polisher

Natural sea glass is created when waves rub pieces of broken glass against the sand of the ocean floor for months or even years. It has soft rounded edges. When you hold it to the light you can glimpse the translucence of the colored glass interior through the white pitting on the surface. You can recreate the wave process with glass and sand in a rock polisher. Rock polishers are also called rock tumblers. Tumbled glass can be used in mosaics, jewelry and around potted plants. Making polished glass is a wonderful way to recycle broken glass.

Things You'll Need

Rock tumbler
Sand
Wire colander
Garden hose

Instructions

- 1
  Collect small pieces of colored glass. Brown, green and blue are common colors of sea glass. If creating a mixture of colors, the glass will look more authentic if you use only very small amounts of any other colors. Place the glass in a colander and rinse it well.
- 2
  Fill the rock tumbler 1/2 to 3/4 full of small pieces of glass. Add enough water to almost cover the glass. A small amount of glass should be above the surface of the water. Add 3 tbsp. of sand to the tumbler.
- 3
  Run the tumbler continuously for several days. Check the glass to see if you like the results. After a few days the rough edges will be worn off the glass and it will be safe to use in mosaics or around plants. It will still be clear.
- 4
  Run the tumbler for a week. Check the results every few day. After a week the glass will have a rounded shape and the surface of the glass will appear more white than clear. It will have the appearance of natural sea glass.
- 5
  Empty the tumbled glass into a colander and rinse off the sand with a garden hose. Repeat the process if desired.

Gemology