How to Polish Opals by Hand

Co-authored by Kennon Young

Last Updated: August 7, 2023

If you've ever been opal fossiking/noodling, you may have found some (not very valuable) stones, and wondered if it were possible to polish these stones without the help of expensive machines. Well, it is, once you know how!

Steps

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The rough/coarse side should be facing up.
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2
Spray some water onto the block and start rubbing the opal across the surface to form an approximate shape. You just need to get it in a size good enough to put on a dop-stick.
- Be patient! This bit will take a while.
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Then place your stone into the hot wax (make sure your fingers are wet to prevent the hot wax from sticking and burning you). (Note: You may need to dry the back of the stone with a little heat, or let it air dry, as the wax will not stick to a wet stone.) Turn off your heat source.
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Put the sandpaper on top of your hand towel to give it cushioning. Rub the stone on sandpaper from 400 grit to 1200 grit.
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Wet it.
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This is the final phase/polishing.

Community Q&A

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Question

Where do I buy cerium oxide?

ZacPro1

Community Answer

You can buy Cerium Oxide from BlackOpalsDirect at: blackopaldirect.com/product/lapidary-tools-guides/cerium-oxide/.

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Video

Tips

This technique is by Steiner Florian.

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This takes ~2.5 hrs, so do it at a time when you have heaps of time.

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Warnings

Hot jewelers wax can stick to your skin. Be sure to wet fingers while working with hot jewelers wax.

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Things You'll Need

Knife Sharpening Block (corundum stone)
Water Spray (spray bottle is best)
Hand Towel
Sandpaper, 400 - 1200 Grit (graduated gauges)
Jewelers Wax
Flame/heat source
Dop-stick
Leather Strap (for polishing)
Cerium Oxide Powder

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about gemstones, check out our in-depth interview with Kennon Young .

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How to Polish Opals by Hand

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