Diamond Polish

[Andrew Mott]

Does anyone have a particular company they would recommend when it comes to diamond polish? I'm looking to purchase some 1, 6, and 9um suspension/slurry. Also, has anyone here experimented with mono-crystalline vs poly-crystalline products - is there a significant difference in the final polish? Thanks for your time.

Andrew

[Malcolm Roberts]

I use the struers stuff myself. I buff my standards on a stack of filter paper and find the buehler stuff destroys the filter paper faster than the struers. My experiences over the years have pointed to no significant differences in the performance between brands. However, delving deep into the dark recesses of my memory makes me recall that the best polishing I ever got was using diamond pastes rather than slurries on laps lubricated with meths......

[Rom]

What type of liquid (lubricant) would you suggest for preparing polishing paste and for removing dust/polishing paste from water/alcohol sensitive surfaces?
Thank you.

[Mike Matthews]

You can use any light oil and clean with alcohol between stages. Philippe Pinard’s found in his PhD study that isopropanol followed by ethanol cuts through the oil and leaves a clean surface. I got good results when I’ve used it.

[Probeman]

If you have acrylic/epoxy mounts, be sure to not use denatured alcohol. The additives will etch the surfaces.

[Rom]

We use epoxy mounts,
1. how we can know that ethanol we use is not denatured - does the bottles should be labelled?
Our bottles:
"EMSURE ACS, ISO, Reag, Ph Eur Ethanol absolute for analysis", I can't find the word "denatured"

2. Does isopropanol work good without any conditions?

[Probeman]

We use epoxy mounts,
1. how we can know that ethanol we use is not denatured - does the bottles should be labelled?
Our bottles:
"EMSURE ACS, ISO, Reag, Ph Eur Ethanol absolute for analysis", I can't find the word "denatured"

2. Does isopropanol work good without any conditions?

Both denatured alcohol and isopropyl alcohol will etch epoxy, especially the thin "corner" of epoxy around the grain where the intersected grain meets the epoxy. What you will see after applying either of these solvents is a small "moat" etched around the grain where it meets the epoxy.  This "moat" may not get carbon coated properly causing conductivity problems.

Stay with 190 proof ethanol and you will be OK.