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Cleaning and preserving stones
- Thread starter Casimer
- Start date
Bill DeShivs
New member
First spray with WD 40 and wipe.
Then scrub with Comet cleanser.
Spraying with brake parts cleaner works well, too. Watch your eyes!
Then scrub with Comet cleanser.
Spraying with brake parts cleaner works well, too. Watch your eyes!
Wayfarin'Stranger
New member
Just out of my own curiosity and ignorance of this subject.....What do you guys use stones for?
Just out of my own curiosity and ignorance of this subject.....What do you guys use stones for?
Sharpening stuff
In gunsmithing, stoning trigger parts, mainly. I use coarser cylindrical stones to clean up and put final radius on a ramp polishing job.
As to cleaning, most of the the stuff in stones is gummed up oil mixed with metal particles. The best cleaning I've managed is an overnight soak in mineral spirits, followed by 15 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner. When synthetic stones get out of flat, you can further degrease and clean them in Greased Lighting or Formula 409, then rub them against a piece of flat plate metal with a hose running water over them until they flatten again.
Natural stones can be rubbed against a plate glass surface with lapidary compounds in a water slurry to flatten them. Use compounds a little coarser than the original stone for final finish. That roughened surface will wear down to the stone's natural abrasive grade quickly enough. If you polish them too finely, they will cut too slowly.
If you want a look at a good selection of stone grades, go to one of the Woodcraft stores. I was really surprised by how much variety they had.
As to cleaning, most of the the stuff in stones is gummed up oil mixed with metal particles. The best cleaning I've managed is an overnight soak in mineral spirits, followed by 15 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner. When synthetic stones get out of flat, you can further degrease and clean them in Greased Lighting or Formula 409, then rub them against a piece of flat plate metal with a hose running water over them until they flatten again.
Natural stones can be rubbed against a plate glass surface with lapidary compounds in a water slurry to flatten them. Use compounds a little coarser than the original stone for final finish. That roughened surface will wear down to the stone's natural abrasive grade quickly enough. If you polish them too finely, they will cut too slowly.
If you want a look at a good selection of stone grades, go to one of the Woodcraft stores. I was really surprised by how much variety they had.
Martyn4802
New member
I use a scrub brush with Comet Cleanser, and warm water.
Martyn
Martyn
Inspector3711
New member
What I'm using stones for
I'm bringing back a 25 year old Interarms Mark X custom .25-06. I was having trouble polishing the bolt in preparation for jeweling. The polish was causing the small pitted areas I was trying to remove to expand/gall. I was advised in another thread here that I should take an India stone to the bolt first in a gentle manner. I don't know why this didn't occur to me. The stone brings the undamaged surfaces around the pits down to pit level. The polish brings all surfaces down at nearly the same rate but also increases the diameter of the pits. I don't have a India stone on hand so I used a standard fine stone and followed up with an Arkansas stone. I got enough of the defects out that I'm now happy with the job and ready to polish it up. I'm not seeking complete perfection for fear of going too deep.
I'm bringing back a 25 year old Interarms Mark X custom .25-06. I was having trouble polishing the bolt in preparation for jeweling. The polish was causing the small pitted areas I was trying to remove to expand/gall. I was advised in another thread here that I should take an India stone to the bolt first in a gentle manner. I don't know why this didn't occur to me. The stone brings the undamaged surfaces around the pits down to pit level. The polish brings all surfaces down at nearly the same rate but also increases the diameter of the pits. I don't have a India stone on hand so I used a standard fine stone and followed up with an Arkansas stone. I got enough of the defects out that I'm now happy with the job and ready to polish it up. I'm not seeking complete perfection for fear of going too deep.