A Guide on How to Polish Crystals
If you spend a lot of time collecting natural crystal or you like to make jewelry from those that you obtained by excavating as opposed to purchasing them, it’s imperative that you know how to clean them effectively. Polishing crystals is a process that must be done correctly. Otherwise, you run the risk of damaging the crystal itself. Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as you might think it is. If you follow the steps that are listed in the following paragraphs, you’ll be an old pro at polishing crystals by the time you’ve been through the process just a few times. Like anything else, practice does make perfect. Therefore, if you want to gain a great deal of skill at doing this, it’s best to start with some inexpensive crystals that are easy to come by and make sure that you’ve got the process down before you move on to something that either costs you a lot of money or is exceedingly rare.
Do Your Research
It doesn’t matter why you’re polishing your raw crystals, there are a few things that you need to know before you get started. Did you know that some crystals are actually toxic when they’re mixed with water? Obviously, this can pose a problem if you’ve decided to clean that raw crystal of yours in water, so this is something that you need to know ahead of time. The best way to accomplish that is to gain a thorough understanding of the different types of crystals that there are and know exactly what you are holding in your hand before you start doing anything with it. Fortunately, there aren’t that many crystals that are toxic when combined with water, but you have to know whether or not you can clean that particular crystal in water or not before you actually begin the process. It’s a good idea to take a course at your local college or technical school about crystals so that you know exactly what you’re holding. Alternatively, you can research everything you need to know on the internet but it’s important to take detailed notes and learn as much as you possibly can. Once you’re certain that you know how to properly clean your raw crystal, you can start the cleaning process, as that will have to be done thoroughly before you can even think about actually polishing it.
Removing Unwanted Material
Once you have thoroughly cleaned your raw crystal with a toothbrush or something similar, it’s now time to remove any unwanted material. This is where things can get tricky. If there is a lot of non-crystallized rock attached to the crystal in question, you will have to use a saw in order to remove it, typically a circular saw. You have to be very careful when you’re doing this, for obvious reasons. If you don’t know how to operate a saw properly, it is imperative that you learn how to do it before you ever start doing anything like this. Otherwise, you could significantly injure yourself. Remember, cutting through crystals is a lot more detailed than cutting wood, so if you’ve never used an electric saw in the past, it’s vitally important that you take the necessary steps to learn how to become adept at using one before you ever even think of working with one of these saws while cutting crystals. This is a necessary part of the polishing process, but it’s one that you shouldn’t rush. Take the time to learn how to do it properly. This is definitely not a situation where you can watch a few YouTube videos and then go out and do it yourself safely, so it’s best not to try.
Buffing/Polishing Your Crystal
Finally, you’ve arrived at the part of this process that is unquestionably the most fun. This is where you can buff or polish your crystal in order to get that high sheen and make it look the way that you want it to look. There are a couple of different ways that you can go about doing this. One is to use an electric buffer, which works great if you’re working with larger crystals and you know how to use the buffer properly. If that’s not the case, then you can use a polishing cloth or in some cases, even a cotton swab (or cotton ball) to polish your crystals. Just like cleaning your crystal, it will ultimately depend on the type of crystal in question when it comes to using the method that works best. Obviously, you don’t want to use an electric buffer on something if it’s too small for this type of process, nor do you want to use it on a crystal that’s extremely delicate. If you’re going to use a polishing cloth, it’s important to research the properties of the crystal itself and make sure that there is not any type of material or chemical used in the polishing cloth that could have an adverse reaction. When in doubt, go with a simple 100% cotton polishing cloth or even a cotton swab. It might take a little longer, but you’ll end up with excellent results and you won’t have to worry about potentially damaging the crystal that you’ve worked so hard to get to this point. Once you become highly skilled at polishing crystals, you can then use them for jewelry, polishing your own healing crystals, or simply polish them for decorations around the house. Who knows, you might even decide to start selling them and develop your own online business. By knowing how to properly polish crystals, a whole new world is genuinely opened up to you and in most cases, the only thing that will limit you is your own imagination.
