I collected a bunch of rocks from a nearby lake. I want to polish them up and make them really pretty. Are there any chemicals involved? I've cleaned them with soap and water, but they still look the same minus the dirt. Some of them look like Quartz. Some are just look like regular rocks.
2007-03-19 14:04:49 · 9 answers · asked by queensassey 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
put them in a rock tumbler - you can buy them at Hobby Lobby, Discovery Store, eBay, Amazon.com, toy stores . . .
some people paint them with nail polish, translucent with hints of glitter, opalescent . . .
try http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aabyb111201.html
2007-03-19 14:07:16 · answer #1 · answered by alma_jolie 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You need to buy a rock tumbler and some jars of grit. You can get a cheap one made of plastic with a plastic jar. Fill the jar half way with the rocks and with a spoon of the coarsest grit. Put the top on the jar and lay it down on the tumbler's rollers. Plug in the tumbler and let the jar keep turning over all night. The rocks in it will bump into each other and into the grit. Check it the next day and repeat until they look roundish and scratched smooth. Empty the jar and rinse off the rocks. Now repeat the process using a less-coarse grit. Keep doing that until you have them polished with the finest grit.
2007-03-19 22:21:51 · answer #2 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Find out about a rock tumbler at a hobby or rock shop. Polishing is time consuming. Several weeks.
2007-03-20 00:02:14 · answer #3 · answered by ButwhatdoIno? 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Rock tumbler.
You use different coarses of sand. You start with rough coarse and work it down to polishing coarses of sand.
The tumbler take days to polish, but that's okay. It just turns and at the proper intervals you change the polishing sand out.
2007-03-19 21:40:31 · answer #4 · answered by rangedog 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can get a rock polisher from most hoddy shops. It's a rubber tumbler, that has a small motor to turn it. It comes with all the supplies and directions.
2007-03-19 21:11:05 · answer #5 · answered by Amy Beware 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
wet and dry sandpaper in a very fine grade will eventually do it, for an instant result with no effort paint them with clear gloss varnish, try one of your least favourites first, it will make the colours deepen. alternatively theres a gizmo called a tumbler that hobbyist's use
2007-03-20 19:16:51 · answer #6 · answered by fast eddie 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
use a rock tumbler
2007-03-22 20:29:24 · answer #7 · answered by string bean 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
toy store rock tumber
2007-03-23 00:44:06 · answer #8 · answered by ash_ly_cat 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
rubbing alchohol and conditioner does it good :D
2007-03-19 21:07:32 · answer #9 · answered by So Lonely, Looking For Comfort 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋