polishing basalt and other materials

[Robert Houghtaling <robert@zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

Good tips on polishing everyone. Here's another aspect. The material
your polishing with, not the grit but the pad or wheel behind it, has a
bearing upon the finish. Example: I finished a black steatite sculpture
using finer and finer grits down to 400 wet or dry paper. I decided to
buff it with a polishing compound on a muslin buffing wheel. Ruined the
surface. Whereas the hard backing material of the stones and the sanding
papar cut evenly across the surface, the soft wheel formed around the
harder flecks in the surface of the sculpture and let the compound cut
deeper into the softer parts of the stone. I ended up with an oatmeal
looking surface.

Robert