First time opal polishing

[Nabbosa]

Hello everyone, I have finally gathered the items and some time to try my hands at polishing my first opal, with PinkDiamond's suggestions.
First of all, I won at an auction the perfect opal to start:

The photo doesn't do it justice but it has some amazing blue flashes. The problem is, you could see them only from the smaller side (the one you see in the photo above) as in other sides there was still the matrix. That's why I wanted to start with this one, I thought I would reveal it's hidden beauty.
Also, I actually had two of them, so if I somehow damaged it, I'd still have one. And it was just 19$, lol.

Since video files are too big and I can't post them here, there's the auction link so you can see the opal on video: https://www.opalauctions.com/products/b ... gh-1417924

I got myself a file set for about 20 bucks and started working:

Here's the one side after about half an hour of filing:

Then I started removing this big chunk of whatever it is:

I used the tip of this file to just scoop it away without wasting opal.

Anyone knows what it is? I'm just guessing, maybe limestone, or even just dirt?
Here's the result:

And here's the side I worked on under magnifying lens:

I'm still not done as I want to remove the black spots but since they're pretty tough I figured I might just borrow my dad's dremel
Then I will need to use some nail files and eventually the polish compound which I still have to buy.

Hope you enjoyed, I'm happy to receive any feedback/suggestion, especially on what polish compound to use.
I'll keep you updated.

-Michele

[PinkDiamond]

I'm glad to see you're diving right in and experimenting, Michele, and the stone is a lovely shade of blue, but did you cut that entirely with metal files, and if so, do you know what the grit equivalents are?

Although I initially used a metal file on the host rock, they're too harsh so I quickly moved on to nail salon files which are emery boards and come in various grits from rough to polishing sizes. I also used a small battery-operated nail salon tool to buff and polish using pink cerium oxide for the final polish, and a diamond stick, but you don't need one of them. I also used my Oral-B 3-D rotating toothbrush, but it wasn't as effective as the salon tool, which are for doing nails at home, not what would be used in a salon.

So what would you do with an opal shaped like that, just keep it as a specimen as the first opal you cut? And will you do the second one the same way, or experiment with other methods to see what gives you the best result?

It's definitely going to be trial and error cutting by hand, so don't be afraid to experiment, and I hope you saw the article I posted on polishing rocks by hand. Here it is in case you didn't. viewtopic.php?t=11692

I'm looking forward to seeing how the other piece comes out, and hope some of the tips in the article are useful to you. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Nabbosa]

Hi!
Yes, I cut the opal only with the metal files but sadly I couldn't find the grit.
I don't think I'll do anything with the opal once I'm finished but keep it as a specimen.
I still have to decide tho, as I first need to see it once It's done (probably when I get the dremel next week); I'm a little worried because there is a big hole where I removed all that material you can see in the photo and I don't know if cutting it properly would mean removing too much of the opal too. Maybe the other opal would be better.
Also, the opal isn't as colourful when dry so I don't know if it would look good on a jewel (but maybe that'll get better with the polishing?)

P. S. No, I hadn't seen the article about gem polishing by hand and it was tremendously helpful, as always.
Who would have thought you could use toothpaste
Thank you PinkDiamond

-Michele

[PinkDiamond]

You're quite welcome, Michele. Here's another one I just posted for you to find tips in to help you cut better opals every time you do another one.

viewtopic.php?t=11706

[SwordfishMining]

Hiya. You are getting there. Opal does fly away fast and then getting out the scratches.
Here is a couple videos from Black Opal Direct and one from Roys Rocks.