[Jewelry making - Article 00535] - [Orchid] Residue on carbon steel shot

[Alison Russell]

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    I've recently gotten back into making jewelry after a ten-year
    hiatus (silver only, at this point), and have started to re-supply
    myself. I have a small Lortone tumbler that I bouht in February.  
    It's exactly the same as the one I had ten years ago, and I never
    once had a problem with it. I looked at the archives, and my search
    didn't find anything like the problem I'm having now, so I hope
    someone can help me. 

    I've been using this new tumbler since I bought it in February, and
    it's been working beautifully for me up until now. Just last week I
    put some pieces in, and an hour later both the silver and the shot
    were covered with an almost waxy gray residue.  

    This coating washes off easily with soap and water, but the finish on
    the pieces doesn't seem to be as bright as it usually is.  I tried
    running just the shot with water and some dish soap, and the shot
    cleaned right up.  

    I then tried tumbling some silver with the shot and basic burnishing
    compund (same stuff I've been using since Feb,), and the residue was
    back. I cleaned up the shot again and tried tumbling the silver with
    dish soap and water. The residue was back, but not as bad. I cleaned
    the shot up again with soap and water, then tried running just the
    shot, overnight, with the burnishing compound. When I opened the
    barrel this morning there was no foam at all, and the residue was
    back as bad as the first time. Again, ran the shot with soap and
    water, again, cleaned up pretty well.  Maybe not quite as bright as
    with a commercial shot cleaner (of which I have none on hand or I
    would have tried it,) but definitely much cleaner. 

    At this point I'm at a loss. It seems to clean up pretty well with
    soap and water, but every time I use the burnishing compound the
    residue is back.  I have not changed anything I'm doing, save having
    added an additional 2lbs of shot, bringing my total up to 3lbs. 

    Can anyone shed some light on this situation? 

Alison Russell

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