[ATM] Life on the edge

[ArtfulBodger <artfulbodger@earthlink.net>]

Hey there, boys & girls.  This is sort of a mundane question, but 
it's bugging me, so I'll ask.

I'm making my first mirror, Pyrex, 10", and it's coming out well. 
I've polished with cerium oxide and then "super cerium," which I'm 
told has a smaller grain size.  The mirror surface is pretty: it 
looks well, tests well, and I'm just about to start figuring.

But here's the thing: I can't get the edge clean.  The cerium -- 
regular or super -- sticks better than paint.  I guess there's no 
reason why the edge has to be all sparkly bright; I just want it to be.

Before grinding, I cleaned up the cast blank with a diamond bench 
stone.  I have a couple of grades of these for tool sharpening, and 
they did well on the glass: it's transparent but slightly fogged. 
I've left the back and edge this way and haven't polished them.

The cerium slurry drools over the edge and stays there, and however 
hard I scrub, the white stains remain.  So.  Hmm.  The diamond hone 
would clean things up fine, but I'm not going anywhere near that 
mirror with a diamond abrasive.

Somebody told me I should use cratex or a great big eraser.  That 
sounded good, but it didn't work.  I have a bunch of art & drafting 
erasers around here, but none of them could touch the cerium.

I thought maybe I could put some of the polishing slurry on a tile, 
and go around the edge with that: fight cerium with cerium.  Pretty 
sure that would do it, though I'd have to be careful not to mar the 
mirror surface.

Or is there a simpler way I'm overlooking?  Or should I just not 
bother?  I'll appreciate your suggestions.

Pete

-- 
Artful Bodger
http://www.artfulbodger.net
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