How to Tumble Jewelry
Are you frustrated because your favorite piece of silver jewelry has tarnished over time? Certain jewelry designs must be highly polished in order to portray their beauty. For an easy and effective way to polish your jewelry, use a tumbler. Using the tumbling method to polish your jewelry is much easier than other methods such as buffing. A tumbler can clean your jewelry in places that other polishing tools cannot reach. Jewelry items such as chains that cannot be polished by buffing can be easily polished with a tumbler.
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Things You'll Need
- Jewelry that needs polishing
- Tumbler
- Shot
- Soap
- Colander
- Hand towel or cloth
Instructions
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1
Determine whether or not your jewelry design is suitable for tumbling. For example, mother-of-pearl does not do well in the tumbler. To test the suitability of stones, put one or two beads in the tumbler before you tumble the final piece. Be careful when placing different stones in the tumbler at the same time; a harder stone might damage a softer stone. Though tumbling jewelry in general should not cause harm to your jewelry, softer stones are vulnerable to harder stones and shot (tiny pieces of steel metal that burnish away the tarnish on your jewelry), and may be dented or even break during this process.
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2
Place shot, soap and the jewelry in the tumbler. Dish soap is a good cleaner for tarnished jewelry. Depending on how the level of tarnish, add more or less soap. Add enough water so that all items in the tumbler are covered.
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3
Secure the barrel. Place the inner lid over the barrel. Make sure it is firmly in place. Place the outside cap over the barrel. Place the washer on top, and secure the screw top.
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Tumble your jewelry. Tumbling times will vary depending on the amount of jewelry and the degree of tarnish. Tumbling can go from 15 minutes to overnight. If you are tumbling something for the first time, it is best to check it periodically to make sure the jewelry is undamaged.
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Open the barrel and pour the contents of the barrel through a colander over a sink. Thoroughly rinse the contents of the colander with water.
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Pat each piece of jewelry dry with a towel or cloth. This is an important procedure, as it prevents water spots from appearing on your jewelry.
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Tips & Warnings
If you recently purchased your tumbler, run it several times with shot, soap and water before tumbling your jewelry.
