In general, the abrasive for fine grinding should be very hard, so that the removal rate of the workpiece is higher than the fixed material removal rate of the fine grinding wheel. Ideally, the abrasive maintains its sharpness to keep the cutting stable throughout a long period of time.

In addition, the fine grinding abrasive should have sufficient thermal resistance so that the grain can withstand both high processing temperatures and rapid temperature changes.

The abrasive should be chemically resistant, so that at higher pressures and temperatures as well as when in contact with air, coolant, or material of the workpiece no chemical compounds weaken the grain.

Conventional abrasives for lapping and polishing are based on corundum, the crystalline form of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), and carborundum, the crystalline form of silicon carbide (SiC). Aluminum oxide is generally coded A in fixed abrasive wheel manufacturing while silicon carbide is generally coded C.

The consumable corundums are divided into:

• Normal aluminum oxide 
• Semi-friable aluminum oxide
• Aluminum oxide white, pink, and ruby
• Mono-crystalline aluminum oxide 
• Micro bubble aluminium oxide 
• Sintered aluminium oxide 

Aluminum Oxide (Al₂O₃)is typically used for achieving a fine-lapped finish on softer materials prior to polishing. E.g. brass, glass. This is the softest (in relative terms) and most “friable” fused synthetic lapping abrasive offered by Lapmaster Wolters. Because of this material's friability it is considered a fine finishing abrasive. In terms of stock removal, aluminum oxide is efficient for cutting materials with a Rockwell “C” scale hardness up to 54. Although aluminum oxide is sometimes used to process materials harder than 54C to generate a specific surface roughness, it is normally after a roughing step with a more suitable abrasive. There are two forms of aluminum oxide offered by Lapmaster Wolters. The most common product is technically called micro-graded dark brown fused aluminum oxide and the other type is micro-graded calcined white alumina.

This form of aluminum oxide is recommended for electronic materials processing. The reason for this is the minimal depth of component material subsurface damage created by the more gentle cutting action of this materials non-fused, flat plate-like crystals. The cutting action is less stressful because the crystals slide and shave stock from the component instead of gouging a chip of material as a blocky shaped fused crystal does. The flat shape of the crystal helps minimize cutting pressure by contacting more area of the component thus distributing the cutting force over a larger area.

Calcined aluminum oxide is available with and without a suspension treatment. The suspension treatment is a chemical coating of the abrasives individual particles that allows the particles to remain in solution for a longer period when using water as the vehicle. Suspension treated abrasive is not required when lapping with oil or water-base lapping vehicles. 

Some users of calcined aluminum oxide are lapping metal components. This is due to scratching problems experienced with the standard fused aluminum oxide. Other customers have reported more scratching problems when using calcined material. This simply points out the fact that every application is different and must be evaluated on its own merits.

Cerium Oxide (CeO₂) offers an enhanced polishing performance for optical flats, as well as other applications like filters and prisms. With its long-lasting polishing efficiency, Cerium Oxide offers excellent surface quality. Even under demanding polishing conditions, it can maintain its effectiveness over long periods of time. It’s used for optical pitch applications and with a variety of pads. This abrasive is used strictly for polishing glass-like materials on a soft polishing pad or pitch polishing plate. The average particle size utilized is typically somewhere in the range of one to three microns. Some brands of cerium oxide have a slightly high pH level. These abrasives cause an oxidation of the surface being polished. The oxidized material is mechanically removed by the rotating action of the pitch plate or polishing pad. 

Polishing machines utilizing cerium oxide abrasive slurry should be protected from corrosion by using stainless steel components and epoxy paints. The water most commonly used with cerium oxide is also a source of corrosion for unprotected ferrous metal machine components. The standard Lapmaster Wolters pitch polishing machines are constructed appropriately to eliminate corrosion problems from contact with water and high pH abrasive. It is important to bear this in mind when using standard lapping machines that are modified for polishing with cerium oxide.

Boron Carbide (B₄C) is typically used for when faster stock removal is required for the removal of machining marks, etc. It is a preferred abrasive for hard materials, e.g. Tungsten Carbide, or tempered steel. Boron carbide abrasive is an extremely aggressive cutting, ultra-high stock removal product. It is recommended only for lapping the hardest materials, generally limited to tungsten carbide and titanium carbide. 

This is a chemical slurry used to CMP process a wide variety of materials, but typically semiconductor materials. When used in a suitable polishing technique this slurry will produce the highest quality scratch-free reflective surface roughness. Depending on the specific product, the liquid colloid has a pH value of 8.5 to 12. This chemical generally oxidizes the material being polished as well as any unprotected machine components. Sub-micron size alumina abrasive particles are added to the colloid in very low concentration. Once again, the abrasive particles serve to mechanically remove the thin layer of oxidized material.

This chemical slurry is identical to colloidal alumina except the abrasive added is sub-micron silica particles. 

The grinding wheel bond has to fulfill the following tasks:

• Integration of the abrasive grains
• Thermal conductivity
• Chemical resistance

The most important bonds when using the conventional abrasive are the vitrified or glass and resin or polymer (also known as bakelite) bonds. Vitrified bonds are generally catagorized as V while Resin bond are generally catagorized as B by fixed abrasive wheel manufactures.

The vitrified bonds have the following positive as well as negative properties:

• Brittle and therefore shock-sensitive
• Temperature-resistant but sensitive to temperature changes
• Chemically resistant to cooling lubricants such as oil and emulsion

Resin bonds on the other hand, are resistant to shocks and impacts as well as lateral pressure. The chemical resistance to cooling lubricants such as oil and emulsion is worse than with the vitrified bond. Shelf life is a maximum of 3 years according to the FEPA (Federation of the European Producers of abrasive) standard. The reason for this is the constituents of the resin bond tend to degrade overtime. This applies to both the conventional and the super-abrasive grinding wheels.

In addition to the vitrified and resin bonds, the metal bond (generally catagorized as M), the galvanic or electro plated bond (generally catagorized as G), and the hybrid bond (generally catagorized as H). Hybrid bonds are as the name suggests are mostly mixtures of resin and metal bond.

Disadvantages of the bonds of super abrasive grinding wheels are:

• Vitrified bond: For diamond grinding wheels, the firing temperature must be well below 800 ° C due to oxidation. This type of binding is still relatively easy to dress.
• Metal bond: dressing with slide rolls or dressing diamonds, such as single-grain diamonds, is not possible. This type of bond must be dressed on sharpening machines with silicon carbide grinding wheels and then sharpened.
• Galvanic bond: This bond can not be dressed using conventional dressing methods.

At the moment, the EDCM (Electro Chemical Discharge Machining) dressing method is favored for the metal bonds as well as the galvanic bond. There is also a hybrid
Technology that consists of an electrochemical and spark erosive process.

Another catagory of bond is Elastomer or E which are generally used for polishing application and are made from natural or synthetic rubbers.