Study Of Commonly Observed Defects Formed During The Process Of Acid Polishing Of Lead Crystal Glass

During acid polishing of lead crystal, surface defects can occur on a small percentage of product which are then rejected. The common practice is to vary the acid bath composition to limit the build up of crystals at these defect sites. A study of the source of such defects has shown that these originate from surface of sub-surface faults such as stones or bubbles. A selection of scanning electron micrographs are presented to illustrate defects before acid polishing and the resulting defect after polishing.