Buffing a set stone

Am i losing my mind, or did i read somewhere that you could safely use a chamois fingernail buffing tool to perk up an older, dull turquoise stone, with a good result? Is that a thing?

Buffing a stone in a setting with a chamois wheel and Zam is done everyday. If a fingernail tool is a rotary buffer, the only difference would be scale and power. To get a good natural stone up to shine with a chamois is pretty straightforward, apply enough compound and pressure to remove surface scratches without applying enough pressure to overheat the stone causing discoloration and fractures and you’re golden. Apply enough compound to do the work, and don’t bear down on the stone (creating excess friction) to get the desired results.

With treated or stabilized turquoise which are more heat sensitive, it’s a bit trickier. Stabilized and treated stones are generally much softer, and permeated with epoxy or plastic compounds, so a great deal more sensitive to pressure and heat. With these you have to polish stones carefully, at low RPMs, once again letting the compound do the work, with low heat and friction, or you’ll risk scoring or discoloring stones.

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Thanks, MM! I’m thinking more like a manicurists tool, rather than a rotary tool.
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I think I’ll give it a shot!