OpenTube

Jewelry Polishing Process: Sanding to Final Polish (Step-by-Step in under 20 Minutes)

Doug Napier (JewelryMonk)

11,776 views

Struggling to get crisp, professional polish in tight areas of your jewelry? In this step-by-step tutorial (under 20 minutes), I walk you through my complete jewelry polishing process — from sanding and rubber wheels to pre-polish and final polish.

You’ll learn how to remove mold lines, tool marks, and scratches while keeping sharp definition around bezels and edges. I demonstrate snap-on sanding discs, silicone rubber wheels, bobbing compound, and final polishing with ZAM to achieve a clean, mirror finish without over-rounding your details.

If you’re a bench jeweler, silversmith, or jewelry maker looking to improve your finishing skills and get more professional results, this video will help you polish with purpose — removing defects until there are none.

Polishing isn’t just about shine… it’s about removing defects until there are none. I’ll walk you step-by-step through how to eliminate scratches, tool marks, and surface imperfections so you can achieve a true mirror finish.

In this video you’ll learn:
• How to sand properly without leaving deep scratches
• When and how to use rubber wheels
• The difference between pre-polish and final polish compounds
• How to think about polishing as a process — not just a shine

Perfect for bench jewelers, silversmiths, jewelry repair professionals, and anyone serious about improving their finishing skills.

If you want cleaner work, fewer defects, and more professional results — this one’s for you.

#JewelryPolishing #JewelryMaking #BenchJeweler #Silversmith #JewelryRepair #MetalFinishing

20 Comments

@anuragsapkota6458 4 weeks ago

Thank you good sir. I didnt know about the sand paper technique

@KS-fw9hz 3 months ago

This was a great video, thank you! I was laughing because I literally cut sanding discs out of regular sandpaper for a delicate project I had. Did not know they made them! :P

@davidmon7167 1 month ago

Cool smithing Chanel.
I like it, a lot of thanks from Spain. 🧑‍🏭 👍🏻

@Kvn_450 1 month ago

Great sharing tips..
I usually finish with a flat surface fine paper to have things flat where it needs.

Ps: these are advance stuff guys, thanks the man for sharing

@IamLilyMunster 2 months ago

Great video making the polishing and refining just a little less of a mystery to me. Thank you!

@tev332 4 months ago

Newbie here:) Thank you so much for this video! Was not quite sure what the process was on the back end of making a piece but your instructions helped clear my confusion up. Thanks again!

@TheVitalCraft 3 months ago

Thank you for this video. Great tips

@terryshuya1098 4 months ago

Thank you for a brilliant demonstration Doug. The step by step explanation was extremely helpful. I appreciated you starting off with used tooling that needed adjustment and how you did that (trimming the sanding disc and rubber wheel). On the polishing wheel I use a rake to loosen and remove old caked on compound before working. Also appreciated the cleaning solution formula! One thing not mentioned was cleaning the work piece between steps, and not just once at the very end. I was taught you need to get rid of the larger sized grit residue before moving to smaller grits, otherwise the bigger grit pieces will get picked up and embed in your next finer polishing tool. This means you may never get to the finer polish finish you are looking for. Looking forward to more of your great videos. Cheers

@elisazulueta9535 6 months ago

Great tips, thanks for sharing this ❤

@wilnavanrooyen4156 6 months ago

Brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

@gracegarza7321 7 months ago

Thank you for this video!

@Silverbear-2026 7 months ago

Another really useful video, Doug. May I suggest a few more tight close ups that give a better view of the example? What you have delivered is an excellent 'how to' but it may be helpful to see more of the effect of the various processes. Thank you for putting the time in to provide excellent teaching materials.

@cuneytz131 7 months ago

tankyou😊

@boomjewelrydesigns 4 months ago

Been seeing you on FB. This my first YT video watch! Awesome tips my guy! My channel is jewlery adventures and teaching as well! Glad to be here!🎉🎉

@lordmark4966 7 months ago

a softer wheel with rouge will act the same or similar to the brush, also depends how defined the edge/ridge is in the first place. amazing vid and will surely help some folks out for basic bezel polishing. lord mark approves. might wanna do a vid on string polishing or inside setting polishing.

@MaxLamont-ee5jh 7 months ago

Thank you Doug for making this video. You explained the process so well. I'm in the U.K. and have bought a few things made from silicone rubber that are meant to help with polishing but I don't seem to get on with them at all as they disintegrate so quickly. I'll try and track down some of the items you used and hope for better results.

@katiejo1095 13 days ago

2 cups?

@escultormariopitanguy 2 months ago

Amazing content, Doug! Thanks so much for sharing. I have a quick question: Which part of the manual process does the magnetic tumbler replace?

Greetings from Brazil!

@yapmom 7 months ago

Hello, Where could I buy a mandrel for the horse hair brush like the one you used? Thank you so much for posting teaching videos.

@RichBinell 7 months ago (edited)

Really great advice for us jewelry students. Thanks you so much. What's the specific gray bobbing compound you're using with the tiny brushes on your polishing machine? Really appreciate your patience and generosity. Big appreciation from Santa Fe.