Hello all.

Sorry I have not posted in some time. Got called back on active duty and just pretty much forgot about watches for a while. Now retired and I just received some requests for cerumium oxide glass polishing compound. I will be able to fill the requests, but they are the last I will be able to supply.

The 5 gallon pail I had is now empty.

I hope this material worked/works for those that got it.

Bruce

Bruce

From one Vet to another, Thank You for your service and enjoy your retirement.

Just so you know the cerumium oxide you sent me back at the beginning, I have continued to break it up into smaller portions and give it to other members around the world. I have yet to try it myself but the others I gave it to seemed to have good results with it.

Thanks again.

Tom

Yes Bruce
Thank you for your service to our country.

Thanks for offering it to us Bruce. I hope you enjoy retirement and that we will see you here.

Bruce,
First off thank you for serving your country!
I've been watching this thread since I requested the cer. ox., but I haven't seen anything about the cost or how to reimburse you for your time and the shipping and handling. Please let us know.
Thanks,

I am happy you are back with us Bruce.

Bruce thank you for your service. I asked for a 1/2 pound but 1/4 pound would be fine if it would help stretch things. Let me know what you need for postage etc. Thanks again.

I feel the same as Deacon. I'm happy to get any quantity - and definitely want to reimburse you for your time/cost/trouble.

Doug

Bruce, I want to thank you for your service and hope that things went well for you while serving....

May your retirement be restful....

Regards,

Jerry

Bruce, welcome back, I missed your inputs. I purchased my supply of Cerium Oxide from "Vulcan's Workshop". It is not very expensive.

I cannot thank Bruce enough for the little package of Cerium-Oxide that arrived this morning.

I plan to try it soon on one of my 18s crystals that has minor scuff marks, and if things go well will try to post some before & after pictures.

I did some website reading about mixing this with water and the one thing that all sites emphasized was to use distilled water when mixing your slurry.

Bruce my address is Richard M Jones 1206 Pine Road Omaha Nebr. 68144

Here are some expert opinions on working with scratches in glass that you may find helpful. And be prepared to fail, at least until you have mastered this art !! There is a bit more to it than meets the eye.

The process of "Polishing glass" is an art, i.e. you need lots of practice. The basics are the materials. If the scratch can be felt with a fingernail, it is probably too deep to remove by polishing alone. You will need to grind out the scratch with progressively finer grit. This is a more specialized (and tedious!) job using SILICON CARBIDE WET OR DRY SAND PAPER." Using a spray bottle to keep the glass wet and also cleaning the debris from the glass as you sand, you start with the largest grit you feel is necessary, usually around p800 for scratches you can feel with your finger nail. You progressively move to finer grits, i.e. 800 then 1000, to 1500, to 2000, then CERIUM OXIDE powder. The cerium oxide powder is the key to "polishing the glass". It should be a HIGH Quality powder being above 90% cerium oxide, the closer to 100% the better. The higher the grade of cerium will work faster to polish the glass.

The art of polishing glass is the key to not destroying your glass. Try to find a technique chart for grinding optical glass. Follow it to the letter. Practice on a magnifying glass and look at a grid with it after you've practiced on it for a day. If the grid looks uniform (meaning that it's symmetrically distorted) you're ready.

To DIY for polishing glass, you need just one 'magic' ingredient; Cerium Oxide.

There are plenty of scratch removal kits available but, it is cheaper to buy the items that you'll need individually, tailored to your particular job in hand. I'll leave the Cerium Oxide till the end of the list so I can give a little more of an explanation as to what it is, and its most common uses.

For any job, you will need:

1. An electric or cordless drill or Dremetool - max. 2000 rpm. Slower the better, more control;
2. Backing pad - 2, 3 or 5 inch depending on the job in hand;
3. Felt polishing pad - to match the size of the backing pad above. Note: There are several types of felt pad on the market but, in this case, you'll need one that's preferably made of Rayon fibre and impregnated with resin on one side to give a faster cutting action and quality finish;
4. A damp cloth, and a dry cloth - to clean off the affected area from time to time to check on your progress;
5. Cerium Oxide - whether in powder form or already mixed into a compound.

Cerium Oxide (also known as ceric oxide, ceria, cerium oxide or cerium dioxide) is an oxide of the rare earth metal cerium. It is used to polish glass and stone, amongst other things. Quite a versatile little substance, Cerium Oxide. It's appearance is of a very fine white powder. It is widely used to polish ophthalmic lenses (mass production and prescription) and optical lenses.

As to which Cerium Oxide powder to buy, look for 'CEROX 1663 Cerium Oxide'. Always look for a high-grade product. High-grade = more money, I'm afraid... It may be a good idea to ask at a hardware/polishing supply store or a polishing company if they can help you in your quest. If all else fails, go to; www.glasspolishshop.com. By the way, CEROX 1663 has, according to the manufacturer, three main advantages;

* A high polishing efficiency which permits use at low concentrations.
* A very high cleanliness which gives polished surfaces without any scratches.
* Excellent suspension properties.

This stuff is really great, but as we will be using it ourselves and we're not experts, then we have to take some precautions during use.

Directions:

First of all, attach the felt pad to the backing pad and insert into drill. Secondly, if you bought powder, mix it into a watery paste to make the Cerium Oxide compound, and if you bought a prepared compound, start shaking the container vigorously until all the sludge is thoroughly mixed. If you do buy powder then the best way to use it is to put some of the Cerium Oxide powder into a small bottle and add enough water to enable you to shake and thoroughly mix. More water is better than not enough.

Whilst using the Cerium Oxide compound (referred to as 'compound' from now on) you must not let it dry out! You can either add a little more of the compound mix or add a little water to the felt pad to reactivate.
Now comes the fun part, or the scary part, whichever you prefer...

Pour a small amount of the thoroughly mixed compound onto the felt pad, press to the affected area, start the drill and keep it moving over the area for repair. Note: If you have a drill which has a lower speed setting, then all the better - high speeds give you less control and aid in distributing the compound all over yourself and your surroundings!

Important! DO NOT apply too much pressure to the glass! At this point, I'm not going to suggest any methods for making sure you don't apply too much pressure on the job as it's a very subjective thing. Just be careful and remember one thing; you'll know when you've applied too much pressure... "Crack" will go the glass !!

Important! DO NOT allow the glass to overheat! This also means that you should not polish in one place for too long. Heat will either break, distort, discolor or do something else undesirable to the glass. As a rule of thumb, if the glass feels hot to the touch, that is, if it's uncomfortable to touch the area you've been polishing for more than a second or two, then you've reached the limit and will have to let the glass cool down. Depending on the thickness of the glass, you can usually get away with polishing for a bit in one place. As long as you keep moving the felt pad over the glass and by that time it would probably be prudent to check on your progress.

Good Luck !! Me ?? I think I will just replace the glass !!

regards,
bb