Polishing Jewelry
Polishing is a good place to begin working with jewelry. It is easy to do and unlikely to cause any damage. Be careful, however, if you are polishing jewelry that has any precious stones or pearls attached. Be sure the stones are not loose and may be knocked off, and pearls should not be polished with any power tools. Using a HSRT, we can polish right up to the edge of pearls and, if the stones are secure, we can polish them too.
A note of caution: Some jewelry is plated. This means that there is a fine layer of precious material applied over a less precious substrate. For example a lot of silverware (cutlery) is made of a copper or lead compound, and then a very fine layer of real silver is applied to the surface. If the layer of silver is unreasonably thin, it is possible to polish through it and leave the copper exposed. Fortunately most silver plating is heavy enough, and polishing and buffing removes so little of the surface, that this is not a problem.
The cloth buffing wheel, see accessories, is the softest accessory for buffing jewelry and very unlikely to do any damage,and silverware is a great item to begin with. Large enough to hold easily, and silver polishes well.
To use the cloth buffing wheel, it must be mounted on the machine-screw mandrel:
1. Unplug your HSRT.
2. Mount the empty mandrel in your HSRT. (for a review of this procedure, see basics )
3.Remove the tiny machine screw (take care not to drop it) and fit it through the hole in the cloth wheel. You may have to use the screwdriver end of the wrench to turn it in.
4.Attach the cloth wheel to the end of the mandrel with the machine screw. The screw should turn in very easily and then require moderate tightening with the screwdriver.
5. Plug in your HSRT and run it at slow speed to see that the wheel is turning smoothly.
Now the cloth buffing wheel must be "charged" with a buffing compound. A "buffing compound" is a bar of wax that has very fine abrasive particles mixed in. The most common fine-finish buffing compound is called "Jewelers Rouge" and is a dark red color. This is readily available in better hardware stores, usually in small blocks, or Dremel ® sells it in little bottles.
6. With the wheel running as slow as possible, dip the edge into the Jewelers Rouge. As the wheel turns, it will melt a little wax and, the edge will become red. Try not to get too much compound on the buff. Remove the buff from the buffing compound and increase the speed a little, to about 6 or 7,000 rpm.
7. Press the wheel lightly to the silverware. Work in a right-to-left direction, very similar to sanding wood, and keep the buff moving. Sometimes a small circular motion produces a better finish. Re-charge the buff with polishing compound as necessary. It is better to re-charge the buff often, with a small amount of compound, than to get too much on at one time.
8. Use a new, clean cloth buff to put a final polish on your project.
Restore Scratched Jewelry
Fine scratches may be removed from "solid" jewelry or heavy-plate jewelry however a tiny amount of surface material must be removed. There is a risk of going through light plating.
To remove fine scratches we need a stronger buffing compound and a firmer buffing wheel.
Buffing compounds are often sold in sets of four. The finest, Jewelers Rouge, is mentioned above. The next one, in increasing grit size, or coarser, is White. (sometimes referred to as White Diamond). The next coarser is a Gold color, and the most abrasive is a dark Brown color.
In your accessories there is White Felt Polishing Wheel. Felt polishing wheels come in at least three sizes: 1 in. wheel, 1/2 in. wheel, and 3/8 in. pointed cylinder. They are mounted on the mandrel that has a "wood screw" shape on the point of it. (Dremel ® number 401) The advantage of this type of mandrel is the ability to do a "quick change" of felt wheels.
Note: you will need at least one felt wheel for each type of buffing compound that you are using.
Felt wheels are much firmer that cloth buffs and can be operated at higher speeds: 10 to 15,000 rpm. and you can press a little harder into your work. Otherwise they are used similar to cloth buffs.
To remove scratches:
1. Find a way to hold the jewelry securely without damaging it. Sometimes a ring may be placed on a round stick. Use masking tape to make the stick large enough that the ring will fit tightly. Also, small rubber-jaw clamps are available at some hobby stores. Duct tape will hold some types of ear-rings.
2. Arrange a bright light so you can see clearly.
3. Experience will tell you the correct type of compound to use for the size of scratch you are going to remove. For now begin with the White compound. Charge a felt wheel, polish the scratched area for 30 seconds or so, and inspect carefully. If the scratches are not removed, use a new felt wheel, charge it with Gold Compound, and try again. If necessary, use a new wheel and the Brown compound. Continue working with the Brown compound until the scratches are removed. Note if the scratches are too deep it may not be possible to remove them all.
4. Re-finish your item. When the Brown compound has removed the scratches, to your satisfaction, you must re-finish the item with Gold buffing compound. This should not take as long as removing the scratches, as you just want to produce a finer finish than the Brown compound. Next, repeat the process with the White compound, and then the Red compound, and then the red compound on a cloth buff, and finally, a quick buff with a clean cloth buffing wheel.