Abrasive

Abrasives

Description

Hard, fine particles used to polish metals, stone, wood, glass, and other materials. Naturally occurring materials used as abrasives include Diamond, Emery, Corundum, Sand, Garnet, Quartz, Pumice, diatomite, Kaolin, Fuller's earth, Talc, Chalk, and cuttlefish bone. Manufactured materials used as abrasives include Silicon carbide, Aluminum oxide, Zirconium oxide, Titanium dioxide, green rouge (Chromic oxide), Stannic oxide, cerium oxide, Glass, Boron carbide, boron nitride, and Synthetic diamond. Abrasives are sold as powders, slurries, and as abrasive cloths, papers, and wheels. They are characterized by hardness and particle size. Their hardness can be measured on the Mohs' scale in which the diamond is rated as a 10. Mild abrasives, such as chalk and talc, have a hardness of 1-3 Mohs. Diamond and silicon carbide are hard abrasives. Particle size depends on the mesh of the sieves used for separation, i.e. a 600 grit abrasive contains particles 8 micrometers and smaller.

Synonyms and Related Terms

diamond; emery; corundum; sand; garnet; quartz; pumice; diatomite; kaolin; fuller's earth; talc; chalk; cuttlefish bone; silicon carbide; aluminum oxide; zirconium oxide; titanium dioxide; green rouge; chromic oxide; tin oxide; cerium oxide; glass; boron carbide; boron nitride; steel wool; abrasive paper; lubrisil, micromesh; abrasive powder; crocus powder; jewelers rouge; rottenstone; tripoli powder; whiting; Schleifmittel (Deut.); abrasif (Fr.);

Comparisons

Compound	Names	Chemical classification	Source	Color	Hardness	Density	Commercial product names
NATURAL
diamond	balla, bort, carbonado	carbon	Naturally occurring primarily in Africa, southeast Asia, South America and Australia; Synthetic-made in 1955	transparent to black	10	3.51-3.53
aluminum oxide	alumina, corundum, sapphire, ruby	oxide	Mineral (corundum); Synthetic-first made in 1888	white	9	3.9-4.1	Alundum®, Aloxite, Bauxilite
emery	corundite, emery flour, jeweler's emery, black sand	oxide	Natural mixture of corundum (Al2O3) and magnetite; used since ancient times	black	8.0-9.0	3.7-4.3
silicon dioxide	sand, silica, quartz, glass, chert, flint	oxide	Naturally occuring world-wide	clear to opaque	5.5-7.0	2.2-2.6	Silex
iron oxide	hematite, colcothar, crocus powder, ferric oxide, jeweler's rouge, optical rouge, red rouge	oxide	Naturally occuring world-wide. Used since ancient times	red	5.5 - 6.5	5.25
whetstone	oilstone, waterstone, snakestone, honestone, rubbing stone, coticule, Ayr stone, novaculite	silicate	Naturally occuring world-wide; general name used for stones used to sharpen tools	white to gray or black	5.5-7.0	2.2-2.5
garnet	pyrope, almandine, carbuncle	silicate	Mineral	red	6.5-7.5	3.52-4.32
pumice	potassium aluminum silicate, pumice stone, pumicite, volcanic glass	silcate	Natural volcanic mineral-used since ancient times	gray	6.0-6.5	0.64
diatomite	diatomaceous earth, fossil flour, siliceous earth, infusorial earth, celite, kieselguhr	silicate	Fossilized remains of diatoms	gray	6.0-6.5	1.9-2.35	Snow Floss, Celite®, Sil-O-Cel, Super-Cel, Kenite®, Diactiv®, Primisil®
kaolin	kaolinite, China clay, Devonshire clay, bolus alba, procelain clay, argilla, fuller's earth	silicate	Naturally occuring world-wide	white	2.0 - 2.5	2.6-2.63
talc	talcum, soapstone, steatite, asbestine, tailors chalk	silicate	Naturally occuring world-wide	white, gray or green	1.0	2.5-2.8
staurolite		silicate	Naturally occurring mineral in Switzerland and Georgia (USA)	reddish brown to black	7-7.5	3.6-3.8
feldspar	plagioclase, anorthoclase, orthoclase, microcline	silicate	Naturally occurring mineral	whitish	6-6.5	2.56
stannic oxide	putty powder, jeweler's putty, tin dioxide	oxide	Mineral (cassiterite);	white	6.0-7.0	6.6-6.9
rottenstone	rotten stone, tripoli	mix of limestone and silicate	Naturally occuring mineral - extensively from South Wales.	reddish-brown	3.0-6.0	2.0-3.0
calcium carbonate	chalk, whiting, calcite	carbonate	Naturally occuring in most part's of the world as marble, limestone, and sea shells	white	3.0	2.71
plant products	walnut shells, rice husk, dusting powder (cellulose)	cellulose, lignin	Naturally occurring	light brown	2.0 - 4.0	1.2-1.35	Agra-grit, Agrashell
animal products	fish skin, shagreen, sharkskin, horse tail, horse hair, bone	keratin, collagen	Naturally occurring	varies	2.0 - 4.0
SYNTHETIC
titanium dioxide	titania	oxide	Mineral (rutile); Synthetic-anatase made in 1906; rutile made in 1938	white	6.0-6.5	4.26	Titanox; Unitane
zirconium oxide	zircon, zirconia	oxide	Mineral (baddeleyite); synthetic	white	8.0-8.5	5.85
chromic oxide	chromia, green rouge	oxide	Synthetic-first made in 1809	dull green	8.0-8.5	5.22
cerium oxide	ceric oxide, ceria	oxide	Mineral (bastaenite and monazite); purified for use	yellow to brown	6.0-7.0	7.22	Ceriorouge
silicon carbide	Carborundum	carbide	Synthetic-discovered in 1884; mass produced since 1893 as an abrasive	green to black	9.0-9.5	3.21-3.23	Micromesh, Carborundum, Unirundum, Carbofrax
tungsten carbide	carbide, Moissinite	carbide	Synthetic-first made in 1893; production started between 1913 and 1918	gray to black	9.0-9.5	15.60
boron carbide	black diamond	carbide	Synthetic-discovered in 19th c; first synthesized in 1899	black	9.75	2.50
metal wool	steel wool, bronze wool	metal		metallic
boron nitride	Borazon, CBN	nitride	Synthetic-first made in 1957	gold to brown	9.5-10.5	2.10	Borazon

Downloads/Print

Properties of Common Abrasives (Excel)

Properties of Common Abrasives (pdf)

Resources and Citations

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "abrasive" [Accessed October 2, 2003].
• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 4
• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
• Robert Fournier, Illustrated Dictionary of Practical Pottery, Chilton Book Company, Radnor, PA, 1992
• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrasive (Accessed Jan. 15, 2006)
• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
• Tom Rowland, Noel Riley, A-Z Guide to Cleaning, Conserving and Repairing Antiques, Constable and Co., Ltd., London, 1981
• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000