[Jewelry making - Article 00452] - [Orchid] Polisning Turquoise Nugget Beads

[Rick Copeland]

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    I'm doing a bunch of repairs to some heirloom silver jewelry for a
    lady. One of the items is a string of tumbled turquoise nuggets that
    she wants shined and restrung. I'm usually pretty good at getting a
    polish on turquoise but these are frustrating all my attempts so far.
    I have tried tumbling them in a vibratory tumbler with Cerium Oxide,
    polishing on a felt wheel with bees wax, polishing on a felt wheel
    with Zam. So far the Zam has done the best with a bit of a matt
    shine. I don't want to get into epoxy or resin stabilizing because
    that would require redrilling the beads and would probably leave tell
    tale drips. I heard somewhere using paraffin wax and kerosene to fill
    in the porosity. Anyone familiar with the process? Any other ideas? 

    Thanks in advance for your help! 

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://rockymountainwonders.com
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