How do you polish rocks?

Answer 1

• Start by selecting a soft stone such as onyx, wonderstone rhyolite, a petoskey stone, a concretion, calcite, limestone, dolomite, flourite, or a similar stone with a hardness of about 3-4 on the Mohs hardness scale. Harder stones can be polished by hand, but it will be a much longer process.
• Use a small hammer and/or chisel to remove any large protrusions from the stone, and form it into the approximate final shape. It is hard to polish inside indentations, so you are better off using a stone without indentations. (Gloves and safety glasses highly recommended.)
• Rub the stone on a slab of concrete to break off any small protrusions.
• Round the rock further by rubbing it on about a 50 grain sandpaper, until it is the shape that you would like it to be when finished.
• Use a finer grade of sandpaper, about a 150, to remove the scratches left by the coarse sandpaper.
• Use a finer grade of sandpaper, about a 300 to 600, to remove the scratches left by the previous stage.
• Rub the rock on about a 1500 grit sandpaper or some leather or denim with a little bit of polish and water on it until it has a high lustre shine. Any powdered polish should work fine. You may get a small tube of polish at most any hardware store that sells dremel tools. The stone may take on the color of the polish so a red rougue might color the stone red.

Answer 2

There are many different methods, from polishing amber with wet/dry sandpaper and elbow grease, to a variety of lapidary equipment ranging from tumblers to flat laps, cabochon machines, and faceting machines.

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You can buy a grinding wheel of different grits, and a tumbler, to finish the material, or have a rock shop / dealer do it for you.

Answer 3

Are you referring to cleaning a crystal item? The simplest way to make crystal shine is to soak the item in a mild dishwashing soap with warm water. Wash the glass and then give it a vinegar and water bath. This is done by using white vinegar and warm water, equal parts. Let it soak for up to an hour to remove any age related build up. Rinse with warm water and let air dry. If the item is too big to immerse, spray repeatedly with the vinegar water solution and wipe with newsprint. The item will shine like new money. There is no need to purchase any commercial cleaning agent.