CERIUM OXIDE
Fast, Clean, Scratch and Sleek Free Polishing. This compound is the oxide of the rare earth cerium. It was first discovered by Klaproth in 1803 and is the most abundant of the rare earth metals. When refined by electrolysis a grey, malleable and ductile metal is produced. The metal is most commonly used in the manufacturing of lighter flints. The oxidation of cerium to cerium oxide pro-duces a flesh colored powder which is insoluble in water, organic solvents and most acids. It is easily removed from work, clothes, and hands with soap and water. Polishing speed is about three times faster than rouge, with no sacrifice in surface quality. There are many grades of cerium oxide sold today, but we sell only the highest optical grade with a maximum percentage of cerium oxide. It is micro-pulverized and graded by air classification for the absolute in uniformity, speed of action, and freedom from contamination.

ZIRCONIUM OXIDE
Slow, Clean, Scratch and Sleek Free Polishing. Zircon is a fairly soft, ductile, gray or black metal-lic chemical element which is used in alloys and ceramics. The zirconium oxide we sell is white and very slow acting. Ideal for final figuring.

RED ROUGE
Low Cost, Time Proven High Quality Polishing Compound. Red rouge is produced by combin-ing ferrous sulfate, ammonium hydroxide and ammonia water. The solution is then filtered, burned in the presence of air and finally powered and graded. Its close cousin is iron rust, although optical rouge is many times finer and purer. Generations of skilled craftsmen have used rouge to produce surfaces of the highest quality. W-B�s red rouge is soft, slow polishing, and leaves no sleeks. It gives the polishing lap a smooth, velvety feel. Care is needed in its use since it does not readily wash out of clothes. Ideal for the final 8 to 10 minutes of figuring when fast changes can cause you to overshoot the desired curve.

OPTICAL GRADE PITCH, WAX AND ROSIN
The polishing stage of mirror making accomplishes two things. First, it smooths the surface so that light can pass through or be reflected without scattering to form a clear, sharp image. Second, the surface is then changed (or �figured�) to match an ideal curve to further sharpen the image. These two steps produce surfaces that do not deviate by more than 1/4 to 1/20 wavelength of light or one-two hundred thousandth to a millionth of an inch. To achieve this high degree of precision, pitch, wax and rosin are used to form a polishing lap that behaves like a very thick liquid and slowly flows and conforms to the mirror�s surface. The very highest quality astronomical surfaces are made on pitch laps. While laps of paper, plastic and felt have been used, none have proven to be a match for the pitch lap.

ROSIN
Ideal for Tempering Laps. Rosin is a solid resinous material that occurs naturally in the oleo resin of the pine tree. Commercially, pine trees are tapped for their sap or gum. The collected gum is thinned with turpentine and a small amount of oxalic acid is added to remove the trace of iron that southern pine trees absorb from the red soils. This solution is then steam heated to between 180� and 200�C., filtered and washed with water to remove the remaining oxalic acid and other soluble acids. Finally, high pressure steam is used to drive off the turpentine, and the liquid is cooled into a solid. The rosin mass does not flow like pitch but rather remains stable over a reasonably wide temperature range. The highest quality rosin is amber colored and is transparent. Rosin is soluble in most organic solvents�turpentine or ethyl alcohol. It is a valuable additive to pitch (where it acts to temper the pitch so that it flows more predictably and evenly) as an ingredient in blocking pitches, or as a lap in very high temperature zones.

PITCH
The Key to Outstanding Surfaces. Willmann-Bell�s pitch, like rosin, begins with the gum from a pine tree. However, unlike rosin, pitch is produced by heating the gum in the absence of air. As the temperature increases the very volatile elements, then light through heavy oils, boil off, until only cyclic organic acids or pine-tar pitch remains. It is cleaned and processed until it is a clear burgundy colored homogeneous mass. Pitch is soluble in organic solvents. Willmann-Bell offers pure pitch in hard, medium and soft grades and in a special tempered, ready to use, formula. The pure pitches can be used alone or as a base to which rosin, beeswax and linseed oil can be added. The hard pitch is ideal for f /8 mirrors and flats because the curves are shallow or non-existent so pitch flow can be ver y slow. Hard pitches also tend to fight turned edges. The medium grade is good for deep mirrors or lenses where the flow rate must be higher. The soft grade is very fluid and is ideal for figuring corrector plates used in Schmidt cameras. For the beginner or advanced worker who does not want to mix his own pitch we offer a unique combination of rosin, beeswax and pitch that melts at 174�F, flows accurately for normal focal length mirrors and flats and is consistent from package to package and year after year. This pitch is the favorite of thousands of ATMs and professionals. Sold only in 8 Oz. containers.

REFINED BEESWAX
Ideal for Tempering Laps, as a Top Coating to Laps and a Low Melt Blocking Wax. To store honey, the honey bee builds a comb with wax produced in his body. To retrieve the wax, empty combs are melted in boiling water, and the wax floats to the top and is skimmed off. The non-optical grade beeswax is not usually further processed. The optical grades are refined to remove color, residual honey and grit. The result is a clean, creamy white product. When 5 to 10% beeswax is added to pitch it reduces chipping when channels are cut in the lap. Further, the addition of beeswax tends to temper the lap making flow more predictable. Many workers apply a thin, pure coat of beeswax over the squares in a channeled lap to ease binding of the mirror and to stop sleeks. It can also be used as a low melting point blocking wax that softens with hot water.

BLOCKING PITCH
Holds Firm Without Strain. This is a special formulation of a loaded pitch which can be used to join tools or other glass together for working. It holds extremely well but comes off quickly after chilling in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Since the objective of blocking is to hold glass firmly but without stress we offer two grades�Hard and Soft. The hard generally is used for temperatures above 75�F and the soft for colder room temperatures. Both grades may take up to 24 hours to relieve strain.