Rock Tumbling

So I'm in between rounds ans pulled this one out of round 2 and decided to leave it out of the tumbler and finish it by hand.
It got quite a reaction in the rock group I joined. It's about an inch and a half in size

View attachment 51811............View attachment 51812

I'm curious about buffing the rocks by hand. Been picking them up for years but have only cleaned them with soap and water. Not sure I want to polish with a tumbler because I don't want them super shiny, I like the natural looking but would like to bring out more color. I wondered if a bought a benchtop buffer and some compound if that would work for that. Is that how you finish them by hand? Thanks.
 
I'm curious about buffing the rocks by hand. Been picking them up for years but have only cleaned them with soap and water. Not sure I want to polish with a tumbler because I don't want them super shiny, I like the natural looking but would like to bring out more color. I wondered if a bought a benchtop buffer and some compound if that would work for that. Is that how you finish them by hand? Thanks.

I'm pretty new at it myself but from what I'm reading you can do it by hand by using various grits of sand paper. The polishing compound goes pretty high (fine) in grit .Going up in grit by hand until you get where you want it to be.

I also read that soaking in mineral oil for 2 hrs a day repeating for 3 or 4 days. I'm going to try that with this one after it's washed well, still lots of dirt in it. It's already gone thru 2 tumbler rounds and don't want to take anything more off
 
I'm pretty new at it myself but from what I'm reading you can do it by hand by using various grits of sand paper. The polishing compound goes pretty high (fine) in grit .Going up in grit by hand until you get where you want it to be.

I also read that soaking in mineral oil for 2 hrs a day repeating for 3 or 4 days. I'm going to try that with this one after it's washed well, still lots of dirt in it. It's already gone thru 2 tumbler rounds and don't want to take anything more off

Oh, interesting. So maybe just wet sanding like paint on car or gelcoat on a boat. I run those up to 4,000 grit for the final polish when I do touch ups. I'll have to give that a try. The only issue I see there is getting into the crevasses. Also interesting idea on the mineral oil. I'll also have to do more research on all this. I have seen people shellack rocks to bring out the colors but was told that it has a tendency to peel over time.
 
Any finished pictures? We tried this when the kids were young - just a tumbler I think we purchased at Toys-R-Us so it couldn't have been much. I used to collect rocks and sea shells everywhere I went but wound up tossing them all when relocating. Still see some interesting rocks that would look nice polished and smooth - don't know if they ever get that far for real.
 
Oh, interesting. So maybe just wet sanding like paint on car or gelcoat on a boat. I run those up to 4,000 grit for the final polish when I do touch ups. I'll have to give that a try. The only issue I see there is getting into the crevasses. Also interesting idea on the mineral oil. I'll also have to do more research on all this. I have seen people shellack rocks to bring out the colors but was told that it has a tendency to peel over time.

The rock above was finished to step 2 which is a blend of120/220 grit. Any type of paint or shellac will weather and peel as it ages on rocks. even on my wood carvings shellac will yellow. I think the mineral oil is a good way to go. At least when it ages it just needs to be redone. I have grit for the tumbler going up to 1200. I can take pics of what the 500/600 looks like (3rd round) later today. Some are shinier that others . You aren't supposed to mix hard and soft rocks and I think I did!
 
Any finished pictures? We tried this when the kids were young - just a tumbler I think we purchased at Toys-R-Us so it couldn't have been much. I used to collect rocks and sea shells everywhere I went but wound up tossing them all when relocating. Still see some interesting rocks that would look nice polished and smooth - don't know if they ever get that far for real.

I will take pics of what I have later . I haven't done all the polishing rounds yet, so far it is round 3. I have 2 other grits to go depending on the results I want.
Leaving rocks behind is my biggest fear if we move. If we full time I could set up a rock garden at my sister in laws she would babysit for me.
I have been dragging rocks home ever since I can remember and some are quite large ! not boulders though. Poor Gary had to pick up some pretty heavy rocks for me a few times. I would love to get some of the big ones in the flower bed shinier and thought about using a palm sander/
 
here are some from round 2
20240813_173444.jpg

And this is round 3, slightly shinier with 1 or 2 more to go
20240813_172649.jpg
 
Marcy, those are cool - that's what I kind of imagining but the 'grain' and colors really stand out!
 
here are some from round 2
View attachment 51817

And this is round 3, slightly shinier with 1 or 2 more to go
View attachment 51818

OMGosh, those are perfect! It may just be the photo but to me they look like they have more of a satin finish rather than a high gloss. I want that satin type finish but bring out the colors. I might have to get myself a tumbler after all. Thanks for sharing!
 
The rock above was finished to step 2 which is a blend of120/220 grit. Any type of paint or shellac will weather and peel as it ages on rocks. even on my wood carvings shellac will yellow. I think the mineral oil is a good way to go. At least when it ages it just needs to be redone. I have grit for the tumbler going up to 1200. I can take pics of what the 500/600 looks like (3rd round) later today. Some are shinier that others . You aren't supposed to mix hard and soft rocks and I think I did!

Yep, after seeing all the pics and hearing about the tumblers, I think I'm going to have to go that route when we return home. We have rocks in the bed of the truck that we've picked up through Canada and Alaksa. We still have two months to go and I'm afraid I'm going to have to dump the extra water jugs I'm carrying to reduce weight in-lieu of the growing rock collection. LOL!
 
2 months or more of rock collecting, you'll need to rent a trailer ! Don't get caught taking rocks from Canadian provincial parks, they frown highly on that. Also at US National parks.

If you wander the Superior shore line watch out for Agates!
 
2 months or more of rock collecting, you'll need to rent a trailer ! Don't get caught taking rocks from Canadian provincial parks, they frown highly on that. Also at US National parks.

If you wander the Superior shore line watch out for Agates!

Yes, we have issues. We boondock alot but not so much in the parks. The variety is really amazing when you pull off along a river up here. It doesn't take long to find unique stuff. Lake Superior is also a problem area for us. :)

The biggest challenge we've so far though was this rock shop near Royal Gorge in CO; The Gold Mine Rock Shop. They had all kinds of finished stuff indoors. But oh my, outside were rows and rows of pallets full of slabs (big but small enough you could pick them up) from all over the world. Those were all natural and unfinished. We went home with a small "load". It's a terrible affliction. :)
 
Check out Mcmaster Carr and Grainger - they have some excellent tumblers for sale - price isnt great - but quality is good.
 
Final polishing round (4)
Next is working on Identification on some of them. Started a fairly full new round 1 while tumbling this batch. Love having the double barrel tumbler.

1000006187.jpg
 

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom