Advice wanted re sanding and polishing a largish piece of petrified wood by hand

[Rock gal]

Hi everyone!

I have a particular piece of petrified wood that I am thinking of polishing by hand. It is important for me to note that I have never done this before. This is not a smooth tumbled stone it's an irregular shape but has some nice wood grain which I think may become more prominent when sanded and polished. It is a rock which I think may have potential..but I'm not 100% sure.

I would like to hear some thoughts and advice so I can make it work!

Please see photos below of the rock I want to work on. It is very silicified so there's definitely some potential for shine there. The outer surface is a bit rough but I don't think it is bark that is covering it but rather it's just been weathered? Is this too rough to work on?

Has anyone polished something imperfect like this by hand and how did it turn out/ what grit stages did you use. Any advice to cater for this particular rocks needs would be great.

Thanks in advance!

Rock gal









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[MakkyBrown]

Hi Rock gal,
If you just wanted it shiny you could spray it with clear coat. Polishing by hand would be a lot of work.
Cheers MB

[Rusted]

Tell us what equipment (if any) you have. Whatever you do with it is going to require a bit of work to get the surface prepared and remove the low spots. Certainly not impossible but is going to need a bit of equipment.

[Rock gal]

Hi and thanks for the replies. I have done more research in the meantime and yeh as you have mentioned it will be a lot of work. I have zero equipment just elbow grease lol 

I read that pet wood is between the harness of quartz and topaz and that you need special sandpaper for it otherwise it will just be worn away super easy is that right?

 I just had a vision of me sanding by hand starting with 80 grit ( I have plenty of time between work lol) I just wanted to see the wood grain better all round but maybe this rock is just too hard to do without any machines with orbital attachment things or grinding tools etc?

Cheers

[Rusted]

OK, you don't want sandpaper like for woodworking, you need Wet and Dry, (the grey stuff) it is Silicon Carbide and is harder than most stones. You can get it at Bunnings but I suggest you look up places that supply paint, filler etc to car body shops, it will be a lot cheaper. If you have access to an angle grinder you can get diamond disks that will make short work of the rough spots (Bunnings). Make sure you do it outside so the wind blows the dust away from you, silicosis from breathing dust is a bad thing.
If you get the worst of the holes and divots out with an angle grinder then I think doing it by hand would be doable but it's still going to be a big job.

[Bucket]

Hi Rock Gal, just out of curiosity, what area do you live in? There may be a lapidary club close that you could join, they will  have the machinery and expertise to help you polish your petrified wood.

[Rock gal]

Thanks for the advice and good idea re wearing a mask for sure.
That's interesting re silicone carbide wet and dry. Explains why it's used in stage 1 of tumbling.

I have petrified wood in the tumbler at the mo and on stage 2 it's looking amazing already. I think I'll just stick to tumbling at the mo and keep it simple. I just have crazy ideas sometimes lol

I'm located in Brisbane's North side. I do have a curiosity about what a lapidary club would be like to join, it would be super handy and I really would like to meet people who are interested in the hobby. At the same time tho I'm not sure if I'm much of a club person but there's only one way to find out I spose.  It's on the cards to sus one day.  Welcome any feed back about what lapidary clubs are like ,😊

[Rusted]

If you are already tumbling, put your large piece in there too, make sure to keep the tumbler barrel really full so the big rock doesn't actually crash down onto the other rocks. Don't bother with filler just use lots of small pieces of rock.

[Bucket]

I've been on (and out) of the hobby for over 55 years now, I started at 11 by joining a club in Melbourne. Life came along and I dropped out of the hobby for a while and some years prior to retirement, I re-joined one locally to learn faceting. Both clubs, and others I've visited, have always been friendly and helpful and I'm now president of my local one, but not for much longer. I took on the executive position because as a club, we should all be willing and able to help out if required, that's how clubs work. Having said that, I attend now more to help others and for the social aspect. We have members who are similar to myself and others that are more active and love fossicking. I would join and check it out, if you don't like it, your not out of pocket much.  On the other hand, you may like it. Either way you'll learn something about the hobby. there's a couple of clubs your way, Google North Brisbane Lapidary Club or Mount Gravatt Lapidary Society. It they're not north enough, there's also one at Caloundra I think. Good luck with it.


PS, I just noticed there's one listed as the Gunyah Lapidary Club, in Wavell Heights, apparently also on the north side.

[Rock gal]

Thanks Rusted. Think this piece is a wee bit too big for my size tumbler the length is nearly the diameter of the barrel lol if I ever get a bigger tumbler one day it would be pretty cool to throw in tho!

Your lapidary club experience is very cool Bucket, onya ☺️👍🏽 good advice there cheers