Paul C 944

Let us know what you learn.Ill look around here to find those products.
Anyone know where I might find;

Aluminiumoxide (different grades)
Ceriumoxide (different grades)
Pi carbide
Cobblers' wax.

Thanks

jim968

Paul & others... most of the stuff you're looking for can be purchased from any company that sells supplies to metallography labs. A lot of industries that do heat treating, forging, etc., use a process of polishing & etching metal samples to examine the grain structure under a microscope.

One source is a company called Beuhler (sp?). Just go to Google & enter "Metallography" as a search term.

Or, as suggested by several in this thread, amateur astronomers often make their own reflecting telescopes, and grind their own mirrors. Look for the suppliers they use.

Be aware that you basically have to remove a thickness of glass equal to the deepest pit or scratch, and glass is _hard_ stuff. You'll want to start with a fairly coarse grit that will cut aggressively, then work your way toward the finer stuff. Be sure to remove all of the larger grit from your work surface & tools before going to teh finer grit, or you'll wind up with more polishing to do.

Jim, .05 micron alumina powder, anyone???