Tiger eyes after burnishing with ‘GemFoam’ After I used ‘stage’ # 4 – 1200+ aluminum oxide (AL O¹) instead of 1000+ silicon dioxide (SI O²) final polish grit 😉

They came out a lot shinier 💎 🙂

6 October 2021 0

Apache Tear Rock Tumbling Polish Trick ⚗💎

Mohs (scale of harness) 5 They are to soft to tumble in stage #1 Course grit (60/90 Silicon Dioxide) The stones would have 30% of their size ground away ❗️

Soo…I start them on stage #2 Medium grit (170/220 Silicon Dioxide for 4 to 5 days instead of 7-8 days )

Then stage #3 Pre-Polish grit (500+ Silicon Dioxide for 4-5 days)

Stage #4 Polish grit (1200+ Aluminum Oxide for one week (Al O¹ breaks down after 7 days of tumbling)) So clean and add fresh polish and run another 7 days if needed.

𝕀𝕥 𝕀𝕤 𝕆𝕂 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕖𝕖𝕜 𝕒𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕣𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕡𝕝𝕖-𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 to √ Progress in each stage

Now Stage #5 Gem-Foam ( Magic little ‘sponge cubes’ ⚗❓) for 2 or 3 days and your rocks will come out shinier then ‘oleo’ on a glass door knob whilst not slippery to the touch 😉

Apache Tears ready for Polish Aluminum Oxide ⚗

Ceramic chips used to smooth rocks bouncing in the grit slurry and quiets the machine 😉

Big Hammer for making tumbler size stones out of large rocks ❗️ Tumbler size stones cost $30 a pound. Precious rock comes in bulk chunks (up to 6LB for only 4 dollars 💎

Stay Tuned for more translucent polished Apache Tears stones from New Mexico polished right here in N.E. Tennessee 🤠 (7 days AL O¹ + ‘Gem Foam’ 3 days = 10 days max) 😉
I will rinse them if I deem necessary , If they are dun tumbling 😉

1 October 2021 2

Gosh I ♥️ my home Polished Lake Superior Agates 💎 :)

These are from 2021

Rock Hounds never die, we just slowly patrifie 😉

2 September 2021 4

Agate polishing 💎

After stage #4 last polishing grit 10 days of tumbling (#1000 aluminum oxide) they were kinda dull looking

after Burnishing with ‘GemFoam for 2 to 3 days

Much much shinier 🙂

After 50+ years I got shinny rocks again 😉

21 August 2021 3

Rock Tumbler change day 💎

My Last batch of rocks for final polish will tumble for 10 days.

They are not finishing as expected . I will try a different grit of Silicon Dioxide SiO² & make them rocks shine 😉

They are not as shinny as this one from near sixty yrs ago 💎

Back to the Laboratory 🔬 🛠 🤓

15 July 2021 5

just started last batch of stage #3 (pre-polish grit) 𝕋𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕤 ℙ𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝔾𝕖𝕞𝕤 💎

After 8 days then Stage #4 (polishing grit) is next for 10-12 days (3 batches)

𝕐𝕠𝕦’𝕧𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕕 𝕠𝕗 ‘𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕠𝕣 𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕤’ running across the laminated dining rm & kitchen floor these kitties in Tennessee call it the ass and tail slide, taking the rugs with them before slamming into the oven or fridge 😽