Many people also use tin oxide when polishing soft materials such as calcite, rhodochrosite and malachite. Tin oxide is not widely used today because it currently costs about three to four times as much as a good aluminum oxide - such as TXP. Titanium Oxide Titanium Oxide is a rock tumbler polish that works well on a variety of materials. It ...

2) aluminum oxide polishes are inexpensive - they cost less than half as much as cerium and tin oxide - the other all-time favorite polishes. Aluminum oxide has a chemical composition of Al 2 O 3 - the same as corundum (the mineral of ruby and sapphire). It also has a Mohs hardness of 9.

The price has skyrocketed! Because of cerium oxide's high cost, many people now use an aluminum oxide polish such as TXP or #61 Rapid Polish. They usually produce fantastic results and are much less expensive. My Experience With Cerium Oxide Cerium oxide was my favorite lapidary polish from the 1960s until about 2010.

It shapes well when tumbled in a rotary tumbler, and it polishes nicely in either a rotary tumbler or a vibratory tumbler using TXP or Rapid Polish (both aluminum oxide polishes). Other polishing compounds such as cerium, tin or titanium will also produce good results. A photo of tumble-polished stones is shown above. EASY Rock Tumbling Recipe:

Cerium Oxide Polish: One of the first polishes to be widely used in rock tumbling. Rock Polish for Sale: We sell the most popular rock polishes and explain how to use them. Extra Coarse Grit: What you need to know about its effectiveness.

Add two tablespoons of TXP aluminum oxide polish for each pound of rocks, and add enough water to almost cover them. Do not add any additional rocks, do not add any additional ceramic media. Please do not add any additional stuff recommended on social media, in somebody's book, or that you read about on some other website.

Place the rocks in the barrel and add two level tablespoons of rock polish (we use TXP aluminum oxide powder for almost all of our rotary tumbling) per pound of material in the barrel. Add water to just below the top of the rocks.

TXP aluminum oxide: Tips for Success: (1) For nicely rounded stones, we tumble Mystery Mix for two weeks in coarse (60/90 mesh) silicon carbide grit. We use about 2 tablespoons of grit for each pound of rocks and add enough water to almost cover the rocks.

We recommend TXP polish - an aluminum oxide compound - for polishing this picture jasper. This Picture Jasper rough is in small pieces that range in size from approximately 3/8" (9 mm) to 1 1/2" (38 mm) in diameter. EASY Rock Tumbling Recipe: Picture Jasper (3/8 to 1 1/2 inches)

Pure magnesite has a Mohs hardness of 3.5 to 4.5. This material has a hardness of 5+. That allows it to be easily polished in a rock tumbler using TXP aluminum oxide polish or most other popular rock polishes. INTERMEDIATE Rock Tumbling Recipe: Silicified Magnesite (1/2 to 2 inches) When tumbling this magnesite two things should be considered: