Obsidian ranks 5-5.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. It is relatively softer than other healing stones. Cleaning it with abrasive materials can result in scratching or breaking. When cleaning an obsidian piece, wash it with soapy water and a soft cloth or soft brush. Rainbow Obsidian rough from Utah. Excellent sheen specimens. Microscopic crystals of various types of feldspars may yield the unique blue, green, purple or bronze colors associated with Rainbow Obsidian as the crystals are oriented along flow layers. Scott polishes a piece of rainbow obsidian and shares some of his tips for a good shine. This is our first-ever video! We thought we were just experimenting, but we ended up with something that others may find entertaining and educational. Obsidian seems to show fine sanding scratches, especially the 600 grit ones, as a haze that won’t polish out. A ten-power glass will usually show the problem, although many people won’t see it until it is pointed out to them. More time on the 1200 grit wheel usually takes care of the problem. For best results I like to add some time using 3000 grit and then start to polish. I have used cerium oxide and aluminum oxide. Anne, The standard for polishing any obsidian is cerium oxide on. FELTnot leather. Obsidian is, after all, glass albeit natural. Glass, is a member of the silica family and thus polishes perfectly.

Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
December 18, 2010

Mamp pro for mac. Question:

Good morning Dale, I’m tumbling some Apache tears and they refuse to polish up to that fine glass finish we all love. Can you give me some pointers? Thanks for all your help and guidance.

-Sherry in Coulterville, California

Polishing Obsidian In A Tumbler

Programming language for mac. Answer:

Ah yes, Apache tears, lovely little drops of obsidian. These are about the most difficult of all materials to tumble polish! I remember my first batch, it took me about 4 months of experimentation to get it right. The following is how I mastered tumble polishing Apache Tears:

First, be sure that you use LOTS of plastic pellets throughout every run, from coarse through fine, as you do not want a single conchoidal chip.

The secret is in the polish stage. Carefully place the tears in the polish barrel and before you add the water, saturate the water with white table sugar (and I mean saturate!!). This forms a really thick syrup that when added to the tears and pellets will further the “cushion” needed to protect these little glass pieces. Note: Be sure to add enough pellets for the barrel to be 4/5 full!

Polishing Obsidian With Dremel

Then add cerium oxide, about half again the amount you would normally use, a dash of Ivory flakes, and run for about 10 hours before checking. Enjoy!

Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong

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Polishing Rainbow Obsidian