Kevin,
You'll notice that it takes two or three times as long to attain the high polish you got when the wheel was new. You'll also see the grey/black metallic residue get thicker and darker...
No engraver I've ever known cleans his/her ceramic wheel as often as it should be done. It's one of those things you always seem to put off... "Awww, I can get one more graver polished before I break down and scrub this thing". Only the professional lapidaries seem to stay caught up with the chore, and that's simply because it's more critical to their results.
If you are using an alcohol based diamond spray, what I usually do is wet the disc, dump some cleanser on it and really get after it with one of those 3M green pot-scrubbing sponges. Don't worry, you can't hurt it - no matter how much cleanser and scrubbing you do!
If you are using one of the lapidary diamond pastes that come in a syringe, I would recommend that you spray it first with 409 or Simple Green and let it set for half an hour. This breaks up the gummier residue the paste can produce in combination with the tiny metal particles. Follow that with the cleanser and scrubbing.
Once in while over the years I've seen some paste products that produced an exceptionally hard to remove residue. We had to boil a couple of the ceramic discs in a Spic'n Span & water solution to get them clean! I don't know if that product is even on the market anymore?
If you have access to an ultrasonic cleaning machine you can take the easiest way out - let it do the work for you. Just wander by every once in a while and rotate the disc to make sure it gets cleaned evenly. You should probably still give it a light scrub after the ultrasonic loosens the crud for you.
The short answer to your question is: If it's taking you over two minutes to get a really fine polish, your lap is filthy... A freshly charged, clean lap should give you a great finish with just a few strokes on either side of the heel or directly on the face.
Brian P. Marshall
Stockton Jewelry Arts School
Stockton, CA USA
209-477-0550
instructor@jewelryartschool.com
www.jewelryartschool.com
Brian Marshall
7/8/2006 12:47:57 AM
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I just noticed that most of my response was directed at ceramic laps... The only thing I'd add - for the diamond discs - is the use of a very stiff brush. A synthetic, NOT made of steel or brass. Scrub in all directions, especially if you have one of the older hones that is not bi-directional.
The newer hones allow you to put off the cleaning chores a little longer by simply changing the direction of rotation. Basically, you get to push the accumulated crud around in the other direction for a while - 'till it's loaded up too...
(Don't forget to turn your fixture around to accommodate for this! You can put a pretty nasty gouge in a disc in a second!:)
Brian
Brian Marshall
7/8/2006 1:17:48 AM
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