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How to Polish Stones

As any dedicated rock collector knows, keeping stones polished is the key to maintaining their natural beauty. Fortunately, the natural hardness and fortitude of stones makes them easy to polish and ensures that you needn't be mindful of fragility when going about the task. Polishing your stones to perfection can be successfully completed in just a few simple steps.

Things You'll Need

Safety glasses or goggles
Breathing mask
Small hammer and chisel
Sandpaper
Stone or rock polish

Instructions

- 1
  Put on your safety goggles and breathing mask. These tools will help protect your eyes from the flying pieces of stone produced by chiseling and prevent you from breathing in stone dust.
- 2
  Chisel away any protrusions found on your stone. This will help the stone maintain its shape and ultimately make it much easier to sand.
- 3
  Rub your stone vigorously with a sheet of sandpaper. This will remove any scuffs and scratches created by the previous steps. Depending on how hard the stone is, the sandpaper you use can be anywhere from 50- to 1,500-grit. Softer stones are ill-equipped to endure high grit sandpaper, so stick to 50- to 150-grit sandpaper when working with them.
- 4
  Pour some stone or rock polish onto a sheet of sandpaper. Rub the stone until it has been shined to your satisfaction.

Rocks & Minerals