The products

Polishing compound and scrap

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Polishing compound Grit is the whole failure So a lidded tub, closed between uses And one container per grade Scrap is the leaf nobody plans for Sorted scrap is worth more than mixed scrap So one sealed container per alloy Keep sweeps separate from clean scrap Weigh the empty jar and write it on Label the alloy in words References

Bench sweeps are recoverable value. Most benches throw them away.

Polishing compound

A waxy solid on a bar or in a tub, applied to a wheel. Greasy, and it behaves like a magnet for anything abrasive on a bench.

Grit is the whole failure

One steel filing embedded in a rouge is a scratch across every piece polished after it, and the scratch looks like bad technique rather than bad storage.

So a lidded tub, closed between uses

10 round tubs and 19 tubs and pails on this shelf. Closed is the specification; the material barely matters.

And one container per grade

Coarse compound in a fine compound is the same failure as grit. The grades are sequential and mixing them undoes the sequence.

Scrap is the leaf nobody plans for

Snippets, failed joints, sprue, filings and sweeps. All of it is metal that was paid for, and a bench produces it continuously.

Sorted scrap is worth more than mixed scrap

A refiner receiving a mixed jar has to assay and separate it, and the return reflects that. Sorting is done at the bench or it is paid for later.

So one sealed container per alloy

Silver, gold by karat, and anything unknown in its own jar. 12 containers at 30 mL or under on this shelf, which is the relevant and thin part of it.

Keep sweeps separate from clean scrap

Sweeps contain abrasive, wood dust and polishing compound along with metal. Mixed into clean snippets they downgrade the whole jar.

Weigh the empty jar and write it on

The refill property calls this the tare and it is the same idea at a bench: knowing the empty weight makes every later weighing arithmetic rather than a decanting step.

Label the alloy in words

Not a colour and not a code. Scrap jars outlive the memory of what was put in them, and an unlabelled jar is assayed at the refiner's convenience.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The jewelry metalwork shelf is 617 rows: 286 containers and 331 closures. 15 mL to 9,464 mL with a median of 237; 12 containers at 30 mL or under, 104 at 120 or under, 214 at a pint or under. 117 PET, 80 PP, 50 glass, 38 HDPE. 224 jars, 41 bottles, 19 tubs and pails, 1 jug, 1 tube. 89 clear, 74 white, 39 natural, 30 amber, 26 black. Closures: 248 continuous thread, 22 dome lids, 18 lug and twist, 12 child resistant, 10 round tubs, 9 liners and sealing discs, 5 phenolic, 5 specialty.

15 U.S.C. 295. For a gold article, the actual fineness "shall not be less by more than three one-thousandth parts" than the marked fineness. For the entire article including solder, the divergence shall "not be less by more than three one-thousandth parts" for watchcases and flatware and "not be less by more than seven one-thousandth parts" for other articles. Silver tolerances are at 15 U.S.C. 296 and were not read for this property. law.cornell.edu

Written from 15 U.S.C. 295 and 297, and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Silver tolerances at 15 U.S.C. 296 were not read for this property and are not summarized. The FTC Jewelry Guides at 16 CFR part 23 govern how jewelry is described and are a separate body of rules. Pickle and patina chemistry is a safety data sheet question and no handling advice is given here.