George F. Vander Voort's Metallography: Principles and Practice
Determining the mechanical strength of the material. metallography principles and practice vandervoort pdf top
| Artifact | Appearance | Cause | Remedy | |----------|------------|-------|--------| | Comet tails | Polishing scratches trailing around hard particles | Too much pressure, dirty cloth | Reduce load, change cloth | | Edge rounding | Loss of edge definition | Too soft mounting resin, over-polishing | Use edge-retention epoxy, shorter polishing time | | Smear (flow) | Distorted surface layer in soft metals (Pb, Sn) | Mechanical deformation | Electrolytic polishing or vibration polishing | | False etching (pitting) | Random dark pits on polished surface | Residual etchant, over-etching | Rinse thoroughly, reduce etch time | | Pull-outs | Holes where hard particles (carbides) were torn out | Excessive grinding pressure | Use finer starting grit, less pressure | George F