Chromoxide powder on balsawood

[Slim7]

Hello,

Im hope someone can chime in and give me some info on Chromoxide powder. I know that it can be purchased at places that sell lapidary supplies, but i dont know if its the pure.5 micron. Some Chromoxide powders and bars are not consistent, and have larger particles in with the .5 particles. Anybody know how or what to mix the powder with to make a paste or spray? Will it work better in liquid form or a pastey form? Will it work better on balsa wood or hard felt?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I've had very good results mixing powdered chrome-oxide with just some mineral oil-based hand lotion ('Eucerin' or equivalents). I 'improvised' that when looking for something handy to bind the powder to a leather belt I dedicated for strop use. It did a nice job binding it to the leather, and it obviously helps keep the 'dust' down in using powdered abrasives (that was my main goal in the first place). You could also use simple mineral oil for the same purpose, but it tends to remain oily on the surface for longer period of time. Not so sure about water, as it'll evaporate anyway and you'll be back to a dry-powder surface.

Chromium oxide powder is hazardous stuff to inhale, and it'll make a heckuva mess if you spill it; it's fine enough to embed in the smallest of pores on any surface, staining everything it touches to a green tint. AVOID working under a fan or blower of any kind (A/C, ceiling fans, etc). My habits in using it, are to dispense only the smallest amount needed at a time, and immediately cover/close the container and put it away. I used an empty margarine tub as a mixing vessel for the powder and lotion, using a small art/craft-type paint brush to do the mixing and also for applying it to the belt I used (also rubbed it onto the surface with the fingers, wearing disposable gloves). A tiny bit of the powder goes a very long way, in mixing it up. I don't think I've used more than perhaps a 1/16th of a teaspoon of powder at a time, and always end up wiping a lot of excess off the strop when I'm done.

As to the quality of the powder I purchased (at a rock/lapidary hobbyist shop), I've liked it better than at least one of the bar/stick green compounds I tried, which obviously had some much coarser grit content in it (left a lot of coarser scratches & haze on some things I tried polishing with it).


David

 

[cap'njake]

Get dialux Verde (green) compound. You can get it on amazon for just a few dollars. It is chromium oxide and works great on balsa. I actually just made several different sizes of strops for me and a couple friends.

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[cap'njake]

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