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To polish a piece of glass capillary, we recommend the following procedure:
1. Be sure the glass capillary is either dry, flushed free of organic liquids or contains only an aqueous solution.
2. Put a small drop (~25ul) of clean water onto the lapping film. If the surface of the base and bottom of the jig become wet they will not slide smoothly, dry them off and use less.
3. Place the jig over the film with the guide pin in the water.
4. Insert the glass capillary into the guide pin, which should slide smoothly to contact the lapping film. If not, use the micro drill bit and pin vise to carefully clear the guide pin.
5. Polish the capillary with a circular motion surface for a couple seconds while gently pushing the glass capillary down to keep it in contact with the lapping film.
6. Remove the glass capillary from the jig, wipe the polished ends with a wet Kimwipe (methanol or water).
7. Examine the capillary under magnification for quality of polish. Repeat step 5 if needed.
8. Move to the lower grit film to finish polishing if needed.
8. Using a pressure vessel, flush the capillary tubing clean using methanol. Be sure to flush away from any integral frit (Picofrit or Integrafrit columns).
9. Rinse the lapping films off to remove debris, dry with a Kimwipe.
Of course, dry polishing works fine, just keep the solvents off the lapping film and flush the capillary out well.
New wet polishing protocol improves cleanliness of final product
