Polish beads after grinding?

GlassyLady · #1 2006-05-06, 10:00am

Does anyone know how it is done?

I sometimes scratch beads with the diamond bit I use to clean the bead relesae. I really hate it when it happens and lately Ive done it to some beads I really really like.
I was told cerium oxide is used for polishing glass but I don't really know how to use it. Anyone????
Thank you for the help,
Galia

GlassyLady · #2 2006-05-07, 12:13pm

Wow, no one here with an answer?
I think maybe I was not so clear so let me ask this:
Does anyone have any idea about cold polishing of glass?
Thank you for the help,
Galia

Emily · #3 2006-05-08, 8:14am

When I've had to grind down a rough edge on a bead hole, I've smoothed out the area using white diamond (a jeweler's polishing compound similar to tripoli). I used a bullet-shaped felt buff on a Dremel. I followed up by polishing the area with jeweler's rouge (not that I'm sure the rouge made any difference on the glass). It didn't make the area perfectly glassy and shiny again, but it made the ground area less conspicuous and made it look more finished.

I've seen people polish glass cabs with cerium oxide but haven't used it myself, so I can't really offer advice about it.

GlassyLady · #4 2006-05-08, 11:23am

Thanks Emily.
I saw at the showcase forum- someone had a bead faceted(sp?) to show the inside of an opalescent encased bead and polished it. It seems like I need something that is called a flat lap...
I will try it your way though as I can't efford any fancy tools right now.
Galia

Emily · #5 2006-05-09, 10:54am

If you want to grind a window in a bead and then polish it, you'll need a flat lap. Just to do some polishing, you might not need the machine. I've seen someone use cerium oxide just to get a final polish on glass (no grinding, just polishing). To polish a flat piece, he made a paste of the cerium oxide on a pane of window glass, and rubbed the piece he was polishing on it. To polish a rounded piece of glass (a cabochon), he used cerium oxide paste on leather that he had stretched onto a cylinder like the head of a drum (but not quite as tight as a drum head). So I can tell you that it can be done, but I wasn't taking notes when he was demonstrating the polishing process. If you do some web searching, you might find instructions. It seemed kind of labor-intensive, though -- might be more trouble than it's worth for what you're doing.

(The guy who was demonstrating this makes fused glass sheets, then uses lapidary equipment to cut and polish them into cabochons. Very cool results, but a lot of work.)

ukiacat · #6 2006-05-17, 1:42pm

I have a customer who was merciless with the opal ring I made for her. She brought it to me last winter to repolish. Since it was bezel set in 18k gold, I did not want to remove it from the mounting. I did some reading and ended up using cerium oxide to bring back the polish. I took a 1 inch med-hard felt wheel and got it wet and then used my finger to rub a paste of the cerium oxide and water onto the felt wheel. I used my Flex Shaft [like a dremel] and slowy worked the wheel over the stone. The oxide worked quickly. I have never used the oxide on glass but I should test it....I know what you mean about scratches. Oh, and I actually had the cerium oxide on hand because it was recommended as a final polish on enamal pieces. I used to do a lot of cloisonne enameling. I never did use it on my cloisonne creations but enamel is glass....so there you go.

Try it and see what happens. Keep the paste wet and don't let heat build up in your bead as you work.

Good luck
Jennifer

woodnrocks · #7 2006-05-23, 7:12pm

Galia,

I finally found something I can give qualified advice on. I've been a lapidary for about 25 years, and have used a lot of cerium oxide. For polishing compound, it's probably the all-round favorite. Buy a small amount of the polish( it goes a long way), and mix it with water to the consistency of milk or even a little thicker. Apply it to whatever type of polishing instrument you have, felt wheel, leather disc, or a sheet of glass. As you polish your bead, don't go until the cerium oxide dries out. That can lead to streaks on your surface. It generally only takes about 3-5 seconds on each part of the surface on rocks, so glass should be really fast. One warning, though, it is a polish, and is not meant to remove visible scratches. If you start out with scratches, use a 400 to 600 grit wet sandpaper, or a fine diamond compound that is equivalent to that (about 10,000 mesh, I think). Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.

David

Leanne · #8 2006-06-22, 7:39pm

don't know if this helps but I use polish on all my copperfoiling pieces...I have been told you can use car polish for a nice shine too??? See if a leadlighting store can give you any tips...It won't remove scratches but....
I think you use polish on copperfoiled pieces for the solder though to make it a nice shiny silver colour....