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Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?
https://gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=26057
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Author:  Willowdalecat [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

I was about to start cutting my Novice USFG project in YAG when I found (by reading multiple threads of various vintages here) that it's not always simple to polish. I really want to not struggle with this stone. Has anyone cut "nanositol" from Rusgems?

"Nanosital is an optically transparent polycristalline material that is formed by the crystallization of glass with corresponding chemical composition and has higher physical and chemical properties than the original glass."

I have a big ugly chunk of it in acid green, and if it's easy to polish I could really use an easy win because I still struggle to get consistently flawless finishes despite having almost every professional tool at my disposal (Batt, darkside, tin+, zinc+, all the Gearloose polishing and pre-polishing sticks and grits, a Greenway, and even some spectralaps).

If Nanositol isn't my super-duper so easy to polish that every single idiot can succeed, are there other suggestions?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Author:  Stephen Challener [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

I have never heard of yag being hard to polish. It has the reputation of being maybe the easiest material to cut. That said, nanosital should also be quite easy to cut.

Author:  Willowdalecat [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

I've got the yag dopped up so I may as well carry on. It seemed some consensus was that it just needs a really good prepolish, so I'll be sure not to shortcut there.

Author:  glhays [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

I as well never had any issue with polishing yag, quite the opposite or heard of this. I sell RusGems Nanosital and it polishes as well as the yag. A good 600 lap, to a 3k or 8k prepolish, 50k then a 100k to remove the finest of fine. I use wd-40 as lubricant. Your Batt or tin+ for pre-polish, and the same for polish, maybe use a BA5T for the 100k. Many options of laps will work, facet edge rounding maybe a concern in a competition stone.

Author:  Willowdalecat [ Wed Feb 17, 2021 4:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

I feel reassured, thanks. The thread that worried me was pretty old, and who knows what other problems the poster may have had. I'll soon find out for myself. Thanks for the advice on the cut/polish sequence.

Author:  Faceting 101 by Arya [ Tue Mar 15, 2022 2:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

Honestly, YAG is much easier to polish than Nanosital. Nanosital, depending on the colour, can actually be a bit slow to polish! (It's very easy to prepolish, but sometimes the polish is slow. Certain colours can also be a bit brittle.)

Author:  glhays [ Wed Mar 16, 2022 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

Faceting 101 by Arya wrote:
Honestly, YAG is much easier to polish than Nanosital. Nanosital, depending on the colour, can actually be a bit slow to polish! (It's very easy to prepolish, but sometimes the polish is slow. Certain colours can also be a bit brittle.)

Which colors do you find brittle, is it a property manufactured with the color to a specific gemstone? Say like the Tanzanite colors or Kunzite colors. Or is this a scientific causation of the coloring agent or some other cause or reason?

Author:  Faceting 101 by Arya [ Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Nanositol versus YAG polishing ease?

glhays wrote:
Faceting 101 by Arya wrote:
Honestly, YAG is much easier to polish than Nanosital. Nanosital, depending on the colour, can actually be a bit slow to polish! (It's very easy to prepolish, but sometimes the polish is slow. Certain colours can also be a bit brittle.)

Which colors do you find brittle, is it a property manufactured with the color to a specific gemstone? Say like the Tanzanite colors or Kunzite colors. Or is this a scientific causation of the coloring agent or some other cause or reason?

205, E156, and E158 all seemed unusually brittle compared to the other colour-changing ones, and had a longer polishing time. I don't use any of the other Nanosital formulations, just the colour change ones.

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