{"id":20353,"date":"2018-12-03T10:54:13","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T10:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polishingjewellery.co.uk\/?p=20353"},"modified":"2018-12-10T10:09:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T10:09:07","slug":"micro-mesh-for-jewellery-polishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.polishingjewellery.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/12\/03\/micro-mesh-for-jewellery-polishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Micro-Mesh for Jewellery Polishing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Micro-Mesh a Jewellers Best Friend!<\/h3>\n

\"Micro-Mesh<\/p>\n

Use Micro-Mesh instead of Wet & Dry<\/h2>\n

Wet & dry then Tripoli and Rouge, traditional finishing abrasives for jewellery. We hear a lot from jewellers that the training they receive on finishing their work is limited at best. It is not uncommon for work to be sent to polishers, fantastically skilled people who know all the tricks.<\/p>\n

However it is very easy to get an immaculate finish on your work with a good selection of tools. Micro-Mesh is one such tool which is fast replacing the need for messy and labour intensive Wet & Dry.<\/p>\n

Benefits of Micro-Mesh<\/strong><\/p>\n

*Cleaner to use than Wet & Dry<\/p>\n

*Extremely fine grades up to 1 micron, so you can actually polish with it to a high finish<\/p>\n

*Can be used wet or dry, the cloth backing is flexible and doesn’t break up when wet like paper<\/p>\n

*Resists loading and heat build up, good for plastics and resin<\/p>\n

*Lasts far longer than standard abrasives due to the unique crystals<\/p>\n


\n\"Micromesh
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\nSee the full Micro-Mesh Range
\n<\/a>
\n\"Micro-Mesh<\/p>\n

Why is Micro-Mesh Different?<\/h3>\n

You may well be interested to know why this abrasive is anything special! Take it from us, it is like no other abrasive.<\/p>\n

Micro-mesh is called the ‘cushioned abrasive’ because the grit is suspended in a specially formulated latex on a fabric backing. This allows the crystals to move presenting a sharp cutting edge that creates a uniform scratch pattern with no rogue scratches.<\/p>\n

The grades do not conform to the familiar FEPA grits most jewellers are used to with Wet & Dry. Use the following chart to determine the grade you might need.<\/p>\n

\"Micro-Mesh<\/p>\n

There are two material types suitable for jewellery.\u00a0Regular<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0MX<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Micro-Mesh MX<\/h4>\n

Generally MX is good for the initial finishing stages and particularly for cleaning up castings. Ideal for smoothing pierced edges and smoothing sprues once pierced off.<\/p>\n

It has a slightly stiffer backing than regular which results in a relatively aggressive action. It is often preferred for harder metals so would be a good material for Platinum and Titanium.<\/p>\n

A 100\/150 MX Flexifile<\/a> is a good way to try this material.<\/p>\n

Regular Micro-Mesh<\/h4>\n

As you can see from the chart, the grits start finer going all the way up to 12000 (1 micron). With its slightly more flexible backing it is better suited to polishing particularly for softer metals.<\/p>\n

Regular is particularly good if you work with mixed media materials such as resins. Micro-Mesh was originally designed for plastic polishing so excels in this area.<\/p>\n

It is also worth mentioning that there are 2 other types;<\/p>\n

Diamond – for hard metal alloys, ceramic and stone. Diamond is high performance, long lasting and removes less surface stock than conventional abrasives.<\/p>\n

AO – for solid surface countertops such as Corian i.e hard composite materials. For the jeweller this may be a good option for unusual mixed media materials.<\/p>\n

These are available in the Micromesh section of Moleroda.com<\/a><\/p>\n