Learning How to Use a Burnishing Tool

If you work with metal parts or with metal jewelry, sooner or later you will need to use a burnishing tool. The YouTube channel Online Jewelry Academy explains what you need to know about burnishing tools. What do you use a burnishing tool for? It helps give metal a smooth, beautiful finish without the need for grinding or doing anything that could actually remove some of the metal layers. There are many kinds of burnishing tools that have different shapes.


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Burnishing tools tend to have a chrome finish which needs to be removed before use. Otherwise, the chrome could break and scratch any metal you are trying to burnish. Sand the tool to a 600 grit, then polish it with a buffer. Whatever metal you want to polish needs to first be lubricated. This helps the burnishing tool glide over the surface. Good lubricants include spit or dishwater detergent. You just dip the blade of a burnishing tool into the lubricant and rub it over the metal surface. Keep doing that until the metal is bright and shiny. Just rub in one direction. You need to be patient, as this process takes time. Yuo can also use a burnishing tool to smooth out small imperfections in a piece of jewelry, like a small nick. Lubircate the tool, then use the inside of the curved blade to slide it over the edge with the nick.