Every day, bench workers are using rotary grinders and polishers to impart a high-shine surface finish to pieces of fine jewelry. Many of them are still using the "red disc"or "white lens," and quite often are unaware of the technology behind these colors and for which specific applications they are designed. This paper will help them to understand more about the technology, documenting the most important information the bench worker needs in his daily work. It will show some basic metallurgical information on surface treatment and provide useful information on polishing materials, grits and grains, tools, surface qualities and on how to avoid polishing defects.

Author(s): Klaus Wiesner, Markus Schmidtke