First of all - I found this place to be an amazing source of different tips and advice, I have been looking through different questions for a couple of hours. i Am an artist but have been working with cloissone enamels only for a year and a half or so.

i have read here and before that diapads 3m are the best option for grinding enamels after firing. We do not have those in our country, and before I have used some kind of a noname diamond file, the grit of which remains unknow(-: and now it has weared down.
I have chance ro order diapads from the USA to try'em out, but I am not sure I should buy 5 or 7 at once, there are quite pricey. So which grit pads would you recommend as a minimal set for me? i mostly make small pendants or earings. I can buy 2-3 diapads maximimum for now. 200? 400?600?800?
Also- what is the point of polishing enamel them to a very fine state if I am flashfiring them afterwards anyway?

Thanks

Hello Anna

I have teh same problem.But I have cheap Diagrit from Cooksongold-UK- this is simmilar to the sponge,there is 4 grades,-http://www.cooksongold.com/category_select.jsp?query=Diagrit+Medium&queryFromSuggest=true

and fine alundum stone-http://www.cooksongold.com/Enamelling/Alundum-Stone-Fine-220-Grit-prcode-860-112

The coarse and medium Diagrit is OK,but the very fine polishing didn´t work for me. Maybe on flexshaft but trying it just with hands it will took many hours to polish enamel.

also I have very useful diamond burrs for good price-http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Value-Diamond-Burrs-Large-Set-Of-30-prcode-999-6389,

use with water the burr will last longer.

Edmund posted somewhere also german e-shop with the 3M diamond pads...

Rudolf

Hi Anna,

I would buy the 200 & 400 - and you can fine tune the silver with 600/800 sandpaper/or steel wool -  after to save some money- When using the diapad sponges make sure you wet them - and sand in a rotating fashion - rinse under water and begin again - you will see some shiny spots and some dull areas as you progress with sanding- this tells you that your piece has some high and low areas of enamel that the sanding exposed - also, sometimes you will discover small pin holes created by air bubbles -  you may want to go back in after all the sanding is completed and fill in those holes or  low areas with more enamel - Make sure you rinse these holes thoroughly with a glass brush and dry before refilling -  

Reminder: Gently sand away the enamel/wire surface- you want just a CLEAN dull surface all the way around with NO grains on your silver -  a heavy hand can remove a lot of the top layer if you are not careful -   

The reason for using the diapads is the same as using the corundum stone - "to remove the excess enamel that you have either sifted or wet packed that has found its way on to your silver cloisonné wires or/in the champlevé method onto the edges of the exposed silver - In cloisonné you are not only grinding the enamels away off the surface but removing the extra grains of glass that have covered your wires - thus exposing the clean silver lines of the wire -

Once your clean up is all finished, you then flash fire to bring back the shine to the enamel - and either set your enamel piece in a silver bezel or in my technique of creating Champlevé - polishing the silver all around the enamel.

Hallo Anna,
if you want to grind only small items like jewelry,  it is for the start sufficient if you buy 400, 600 and 800 fine diamond pads, if you are with a silk-like enamel surface pleased. Also if you make fire polishing to reach a high gloss, these three pads are sufficient. Important is to use the pads only wet.
After 800 fine you can polish the enamel-surface and the metal-parts with a fat-free polishing-material. I prefer Cer-Oxide on a wet felt-wheel, which you can buy in the Internet from Lapidary-supplier.
After Cer-Oxide polishing, the surface gets with a white candle-stub waxed.. After waxing remove the wax-traces with a kitchen-papertowel and polish the surface with your thenar.  
I'm really not a friend of Amazon, but if you in www.amazon.com search under "Diamond Pads" you get a lot of offers from different countries. Otherwise you can also google under "Diamond Pads" or Diamond spongs" and then go to  "picture button" . Also here you find a lot of pad supplier.

Edmund

Thanks a lot!