Good luck. Some people hate cerium oxide polishing but I could honestly do it forever. This video is an older version of the cerium oxide polishing and I use a much better quality CeOx now.
@RoysRocks I had my first attempt the other day, it's going to take some practice and learning but I understand the appeal. I'm going to continue using it ☺️ I'll check out your newer video.
Thank you so much, I had no idea what I was doing with the cerium oxide and now I’ve been inspired to go at my opals again with some knowledge behind me. Thanks again 🙏
No worries. I will mention this is a good guide for poor quality cerium oxide but for higher grade CeOx you want to run with a thin solution with much more water to get it to work faster. 👍 Good luck!
@@RoysRocks I had a stone worker suggest the chemical a week ago so I figured there has to be someone on RUclips and sure as shit.. Good luck to you as well, sir.
@@skoney2336 You'll find everything on youtube lol. Cerium oxide is used all over the place like decorative glass polishing and car windscreen polishing. Its also good fun to use. Very relaxing.
Thanks for the video i have my cerium oxide they gave me the white and it works great but if there’s a crack you can see the white . Great video very helpful I wanted to see how you applied the C.O. And now I know ty. I built a dust box from a laundry sink and I have a plexi cover and I drilled holes for my arms n the flex shaft etc and I bought a water drip system from Lowe’s for 3 bucks US it’s great and used a old water jug the 2 gl one and yea works great I’m so excited sorry I rambled . Love the vid though
Cool enclosure. Probs a bit bigger than mine and a bit more contained so sounds good. Cerium is a bit funny. I've played with a few now and some require thinner solutions to get the mirror finish.
@@RoysRocks thanks for the response I didn’t mean to comment on all the videos I watched of yours but I get so excited . Hey I’ll be honest my boss helped me with the box he can build anything one of those guys and good to have around . So I bought the 4” sanding pads and I can’t find the right adapter for it and it’s driving me crazy lol . Thanks again Roy really like your videos you do a great job with them.
@@edtherockhound9944 The more comments the better I believe on youtube so fire away. 4" sounds like a good size hopefully you can find something to mount them on. Some people glue them to the inside of a paper plate and use them that way.
Hello. Thank you for the info. I just started polishing opals, (Australian) but after all the steps, (using a Dremel) when I started using the Cerium Oxide, the opals now have a residual orange/pink color. What did I do wrong, or how can I remove the residual orange/pink color, if possible?
It would only be getting stained or deposited if you are running to fast/dry or there are pits in the surface. I would just run slower keeping the stone and bur wet at all times.
Hi Sam, for this old stuff I used thick but it doesn't really matter too much as it is just suspended in the water not dissolved. The current cerium oxide I use incredibly thin, think skim milk . Basically just a teaspoon or two of powder in half a cup of water.
Yeah most of the time you will dop unless you are going double sided. Even then sometimes you do but there are a few out there that don't dop at all which is crazy. Poor fingers.
I've been trying to cut with a diamond bits on stones like jasper and sea shells i'm also looking to create a few pieces here and there i want to hand polish with the dremel and my mom wants to polish by rock shaker/ rock tumbler
A tumber is a great way to get into polishing and cerium oxide can work quite well as a final polish depending on the material. I think for odd shaped items like sea shells you can't go past a dremel/rotary tool.
gday, mate. was wanting to know what the brand of sintered bits you use is. ive bought a few sets, and have tried finding em online. but cant find the right combination of shape, and size. i like the ones you are using, and want to order some
@@RoysRocks that's pretty cool! Anyone of suggestions as to what American brand to buy? Only because I'd like to avoid excessive shipping fees if possible.
@@RoysRocks I checked Suva, and even bought some. But I can't find the big bullets like you use. I ordered some "pearls". But they're so small, I'm kinda hesitant to use em
Hi tmacmac, this is an old video so pretty outdated compared to what I use now. I am working on getting a supplier for the tips so I can add them to the website but they are essentially a dense felt burr and the cerium oxide I have massively upgraded from this optical grade stuff and manufactured my own which you can see on the store (www.roysrocks.com/product-page/super-cerium-oxide-2um-100g).
@@888DFINITY There are typically 2 main shaft diameters. I stick to 3/32" or 2.38mm which is the smaller size. You can get an adjustable chuck or collects for a range of sizes.
I got some very old Cerium Oxide (ordered new) and felt thingies which works on mineral (2 watches I want to look better) and I stay in a situation of minor heat. It's like it's working when most is gone. With water I guess it starts softer. When trying some copper polish and doing the same it goes very blank.
@@RoysRocks Thanks. Makes sense with tin stuff on copper. I meant copper polish used on mineral. Beyond that it's basically cleaning, so tin oxide is brushing a tiny bit off any copper.
@@RoysRocks Have you made any purchases with Dreamtimeopal/ Opal Auctions? if so what are your thoughts. I just order some AMAZing boulder rough. I dont know how to price out boulder opal... No one has any boulder opal specific pricing vids. also im having trouble finding boulder opal beginners buying guide vids. thanx 4 the time ans effort you give us in your vids.
@@petersolstad673 No I havent purchased from them yet. I do see that thy have some amazing pieces though. Maybe I should cover some basic pricing for Boulder opal. It can be quite complicated.
@@RoysRocks I just bought some beautiful pieces. Id love to show you. KILLER STUFF! in my opinion. but I dont know how to price the pieces once finished. And did I get a faire price, or did I make out like a bandit.... or just skunked. if you do a vid on this those would be my questions. Also how best to cut it, shape it, should I leave the pattern as is, or grind down to expose more color.... thanks 4 replying. its very helpful.
@@petersolstad673 All very good questions. Especially "how best to cut it, shape it, should I leave the pattern as is, or grind down to expose more color". These questions we ask ourselves almost every cut we do and sometimes the answer is not clear.
Not necessarily. I could have made a red/pink super fine cerium oxide rather than the white/yellow I made in the end. The colour just comes from impurities, mostly other rare earth/metal oxides.
No worries but this one is pretty old and I use a different CeOx now that gets used quite differently. The better the quality the CeOx the faster and wetter you want to use it.
Amber being a fossilized tree resin is really soft so very fine CeOx would work but I dont think it will give the same sheen as an aluminum oxide or diamond paste which is commonly much finer. I would actually use tripoli to polish it and for a final shine something like a flannel. Its just such a soft material.
@@ahmed9399 I think diamond paste will be over complicating things and it is also much more complicated. Tripoli you can buy in many places locally (hardware or auto shops) and is the most common polishing method. Diamond paste is for harder stones but amber is like polishing plastic.
No worries Mr Cherise, this is actually an older version of the same video topic I recovered but most of the info is still the same apart from "higher quality CeOx use far more water and stick to fully wet"
Hi, i just make a tip out of wood see ''opal direct'' he will show you. I put a little bit of metholated spirits in the polish it stops splashing, cheers
I also make burrs from wood: ruclips.net/video/FIdgliWZnR8/видео.html That I only use for diamond paste though as cerium oxide requires the felt to hold a bit of water.
@@Girmi007 Hi Girmi. I think it depends on the type of opal and the stage you are at. I personally have found slow initially with the coarse grit and as you progress to high grits you can speed it up a little but not too much due to the heat and chipping risk. I rarely go above 8000 rpm unless I am cerium oxide polishing. Even then probably not above 15000-20000 rpm to avoid heating the stone too much. Hope that helps.
This is the best part. I've upgraded to my own formulation of CeOx now which is used differently (much more water) but even low grade stuff I find relaxing to use.
Bought that particular cerium oxide a long time ago and cerium oxide isnt really sold with a grit value. It is an ultra fine powder and typically you want it to be about 1.5 microns but as long as it is cerium oxide sold for glass polishing you are good to go.
Depends on where you live. I actually bought this from Europe across the other side of the world online a long time ago. You can get it from some car repair places (windscreen polishing) or a lapidary store if either are local.
@BlueCrow I don't know, never did try that, but cerium oxide is typically used as a glass polishing compound, so, I'm not sure right now how hard sapphire is in comparison to glass, but if it is on a similar Mohs hardness level, then it should work I guess.
@BlueCrow I've looked it up, and I guess it won't work, because typical glass seems to be a 6 or 7 on the scale and corundum is a 9, so sapphire is much harder than glass. You would need something like a diamond compound to cut and polish sapphire.
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This is very helpful! I'm about to use cerium oxide for the first time and I feel much more prepared now! Thank you
Good luck. Some people hate cerium oxide polishing but I could honestly do it forever.
This video is an older version of the cerium oxide polishing and I use a much better quality CeOx now.
@RoysRocks I had my first attempt the other day, it's going to take some practice and learning but I understand the appeal. I'm going to continue using it ☺️ I'll check out your newer video.
Thank you so much, I had no idea what I was doing with the cerium oxide and now I’ve been inspired to go at my opals again with some knowledge behind me. Thanks again 🙏
No worries. I will mention this is a good guide for poor quality cerium oxide but for higher grade CeOx you want to run with a thin solution with much more water to get it to work faster. 👍
Good luck!
Thanks again for another useful handy video 🙏
No worries, happy to help.
You're a champion! Thank you, sir!
It's the people like you that make me have hope still 💯 I can't wait to buy some Curium Oxide
Good luck. its good stuff and very versatile, some prefer other compounds but from my trials the improvements are marginal at best.
@@RoysRocks I had a stone worker suggest the chemical a week ago so I figured there has to be someone on RUclips and sure as shit.. Good luck to you as well, sir.
@@skoney2336 You'll find everything on youtube lol. Cerium oxide is used all over the place like decorative glass polishing and car windscreen polishing. Its also good fun to use. Very relaxing.
Thanks for the video i have my cerium oxide they gave me the white and it works great but if there’s a crack you can see the white . Great video very helpful I wanted to see how you applied the C.O. And now I know ty. I built a dust box from a laundry sink and I have a plexi cover and I drilled holes for my arms n the flex shaft etc and I bought a water drip system from Lowe’s for 3 bucks US it’s great and used a old water jug the 2 gl one and yea works great I’m so excited sorry I rambled . Love the vid though
Cool enclosure. Probs a bit bigger than mine and a bit more contained so sounds good. Cerium is a bit funny. I've played with a few now and some require thinner solutions to get the mirror finish.
@@RoysRocks thanks for the response I didn’t mean to comment on all the videos I watched of yours but I get so excited . Hey I’ll be honest my boss helped me with the box he can build anything one of those guys and good to have around . So I bought the 4” sanding pads and I can’t find the right adapter for it and it’s driving me crazy lol . Thanks again Roy really like your videos you do a great job with them.
@@edtherockhound9944 The more comments the better I believe on youtube so fire away.
4" sounds like a good size hopefully you can find something to mount them on. Some people glue them to the inside of a paper plate and use them that way.
Another quick one what speed setting should I run when applying the CO ?
Hello. Thank you for the info. I just started polishing opals, (Australian) but after all the steps, (using a Dremel) when I started using the Cerium Oxide, the opals now have a residual orange/pink color. What did I do wrong, or how can I remove the residual orange/pink color, if possible?
It would only be getting stained or deposited if you are running to fast/dry or there are pits in the surface.
I would just run slower keeping the stone and bur wet at all times.
Great vid - many thanks! What sort of speed do you use on the Dremel please?
Almost all the time I run at between 8000-10000rpm faster is not better especially for opal.
thanks for the quick lesson many thanks
No worries. I have a few new cerium oxides to play with which actually perform better as thin solutions. I'll use science to get to the bottom of why.
Hi Roy, thanks for this video, what ratio of cerium oxide to water do you recommend?
Hi Sam, for this old stuff I used thick but it doesn't really matter too much as it is just suspended in the water not dissolved.
The current cerium oxide I use incredibly thin, think skim milk . Basically just a teaspoon or two of powder in half a cup of water.
@@RoysRocks Thank you so much! Appreciate the response, it is very helpful.
@@Samwisedragon No worries, happy to help
Can you put it on a dop stick when you’re doing a polishing stage so you’re not holding on the Opal itself ??
Yeah most of the time you will dop unless you are going double sided. Even then sometimes you do but there are a few out there that don't dop at all which is crazy. Poor fingers.
I've been trying to cut with a diamond bits on stones like jasper and sea shells i'm also looking to create a few pieces here and there i want to hand polish with the dremel and my mom wants to polish by rock shaker/ rock tumbler
A tumber is a great way to get into polishing and cerium oxide can work quite well as a final polish depending on the material. I think for odd shaped items like sea shells you can't go past a dremel/rotary tool.
Giday Roy, how are you mate? Just wondering what to use to polish bolder opal?
Boulder is almost always AlOx.
On soft stones too?? Like Peruvian opal, turquoise etc??? Where do you sell stones? I like your way about you.
Yeah soft silica based stones cerium oxide is the way to go.
I dont sell stones I'm keeping them for jewelry making.
gday, mate. was wanting to know what the brand of sintered bits you use is. ive bought a few sets, and have tried finding em online. but cant find the right combination of shape, and size. i like the ones you are using, and want to order some
I get these direct from the manufacturer so they are not branded. If I bought 500+ per order I could actually get them Roys Rocks branded LOL.
@@RoysRocks that's pretty cool! Anyone of suggestions as to what American brand to buy? Only because I'd like to avoid excessive shipping fees if possible.
@@redeyestones3738 there are a few options in the US but they are all pretty pricey. You could check out Suva lapidary or cutting edge?
@@RoysRocks I checked Suva, and even bought some. But I can't find the big bullets like you use. I ordered some "pearls". But they're so small, I'm kinda hesitant to use em
Gday Roy what tool are you using ?
Are most tops compatible?
Cheers Troy
Hi tmacmac, this is an old video so pretty outdated compared to what I use now.
I am working on getting a supplier for the tips so I can add them to the website but they are essentially a dense felt burr and the cerium oxide I have massively upgraded from this optical grade stuff and manufactured my own which you can see on the store (www.roysrocks.com/product-page/super-cerium-oxide-2um-100g).
@@RoysRocks cheers Roy are you using a dremel? Or still using the OZITO?
@@888DFINITY Still the same Ozito from this video. Has been running for many years now.
@@RoysRocks thanks Roy Are your bits compatible with a dremel ?
I suppose they would be universal
@@888DFINITY There are typically 2 main shaft diameters. I stick to 3/32" or 2.38mm which is the smaller size. You can get an adjustable chuck or collects for a range of sizes.
I got some very old Cerium Oxide (ordered new) and felt thingies which works on mineral (2 watches I want to look better) and I stay in a situation of minor heat. It's like it's working when most is gone. With water I guess it starts softer. When trying some copper polish and doing the same it goes very blank.
Good luck with it. sounds like you are on the right track. I've heard tin oxide works better for polishing copper but I haven't tried it myself.
@@RoysRocks Thanks. Makes sense with tin stuff on copper. I meant copper polish used on mineral. Beyond that it's basically cleaning, so tin oxide is brushing a tiny bit off any copper.
@@elektron2kim666 Ah I get ya.
@BlueCrow Use diamond paste in my opinion. It says 1,200 grit, 10% on something I have.
I have aluminum oxide is that ok to use on the Opal? And is it the same process?
Yeah aluminium oxide works. I don't use it because it is a little more expensive and the results are about the same.
@@RoysRocks Have you made any purchases with Dreamtimeopal/ Opal Auctions? if so what are your thoughts. I just order some AMAZing boulder rough. I dont know how to price out boulder opal... No one has any boulder opal specific pricing vids. also im having trouble finding boulder opal beginners buying guide vids. thanx 4 the time ans effort you give us in your vids.
@@petersolstad673 No I havent purchased from them yet. I do see that thy have some amazing pieces though.
Maybe I should cover some basic pricing for Boulder opal. It can be quite complicated.
@@RoysRocks I just bought some beautiful pieces. Id love to show you. KILLER STUFF! in my opinion. but I dont know how to price the pieces once finished. And did I get a faire price, or did I make out like a bandit.... or just skunked. if you do a vid on this those would be my questions. Also how best to cut it, shape it, should I leave the pattern as is, or grind down to expose more color.... thanks 4 replying. its very helpful.
@@petersolstad673 All very good questions. Especially "how best to cut it, shape it, should I leave the pattern as is, or grind down to expose more color". These questions we ask ourselves almost every cut we do and sometimes the answer is not clear.
The brown cerium is for tumbling. The white cerium called super cerium is for wheel. Finer grade.
Not necessarily. I could have made a red/pink super fine cerium oxide rather than the white/yellow I made in the end.
The colour just comes from impurities, mostly other rare earth/metal oxides.
Thanks for the tips!!!
No worries but this one is pretty old and I use a different CeOx now that gets used quite differently. The better the quality the CeOx the faster and wetter you want to use it.
Does cerium oxide work well with amber stones?
Amber being a fossilized tree resin is really soft so very fine CeOx would work but I dont think it will give the same sheen as an aluminum oxide or diamond paste which is commonly much finer. I would actually use tripoli to polish it and for a final shine something like a flannel. Its just such a soft material.
@@RoysRocks what grade of diamond paste? I'm seeing paste at W0.5 grit 10,000 all the way up to W40 grit 320
@@ahmed9399 I think diamond paste will be over complicating things and it is also much more complicated. Tripoli you can buy in many places locally (hardware or auto shops) and is the most common polishing method. Diamond paste is for harder stones but amber is like polishing plastic.
Good post , helpful,thanks .
No worries Mr Cherise, this is actually an older version of the same video topic I recovered but most of the info is still the same apart from "higher quality CeOx use far more water and stick to fully wet"
Awesome.... thanks !
No worries but this is an old video and I dont use the lower quality CeOx anymore.
More updated video here: ruclips.net/video/btbByv_DS6c/видео.html
Like corn flour very fine no grittiness at all
It's much grittier than cornflour owing to the hardness of cerium oxide but yes very fine.
Hi, i just make a tip out of wood see ''opal direct'' he will show you. I put a little bit of metholated spirits in the polish it stops splashing, cheers
I also make burrs from wood: ruclips.net/video/FIdgliWZnR8/видео.html
That I only use for diamond paste though as cerium oxide requires the felt to hold a bit of water.
Nice, I have to order some cerium oxcide👍🤠
Thank You for sharing!
Btw, what speed? My Dremel goes up to 30.000 rpm.
Mine goes up to 35,000 but I never go that fast. Too much friction and heat for opal and I dont want to risk it cracking.
@@RoysRocks How much RPM would you actually recommend?
@@Girmi007 Hi Girmi.
I think it depends on the type of opal and the stage you are at.
I personally have found slow initially with the coarse grit and as you progress to high grits you can speed it up a little but not too much due to the heat and chipping risk.
I rarely go above 8000 rpm unless I am cerium oxide polishing. Even then probably not above 15000-20000 rpm to avoid heating the stone too much.
Hope that helps.
Does the temperature of the cerium oxide make a difference?
Not really but the moisture/amount of water would so if it gets hot and dries that will change how it works.
Do you prefer felt over wool?
It depends. I prefer felt with metal oxides and wood with diamonds paste.
What grit before cerium oxide? 6000 ok ?
Doesn't even need to be that high. 3000 will do for opal.
1200 would be enough?
Sounds nice and I will start with this way to polish, if the first stone is rubbed😂
This is the best part. I've upgraded to my own formulation of CeOx now which is used differently (much more water) but even low grade stuff I find relaxing to use.
Helps to have it on a stubby dob stick.
That is true. Even at the 3000 grit nova stage they can start trying to run away from you.
What is the grit of the cerium oxide?
Bought that particular cerium oxide a long time ago and cerium oxide isnt really sold with a grit value.
It is an ultra fine powder and typically you want it to be about 1.5 microns but as long as it is cerium oxide sold for glass polishing you are good to go.
@@RoysRocks thank you so much for answering.
No worries. Happy to help.
Do you know a place where i csn buy cerium oxide like this?
Depends on where you live. I actually bought this from Europe across the other side of the world online a long time ago.
You can get it from some car repair places (windscreen polishing) or a lapidary store if either are local.
Or you could look on amazon. There is the 3,5(red brown) and the 2.5(white). The white one is a bit finer so gives an even finer polish.
@BlueCrow I don't know, never did try that, but cerium oxide is typically used as a glass polishing compound, so, I'm not sure right now how hard sapphire is in comparison to glass, but if it is on a similar Mohs hardness level, then it should work I guess.
@BlueCrow I've looked it up, and I guess it won't work, because typical glass seems to be a 6 or 7 on the scale and corundum is a 9, so sapphire is much harder than glass. You would need something like a diamond compound to cut and polish sapphire.