Pitch alternatives?

[zathras]

Hello :hi:

I'd like to try to make a mirror (6") soon and I was wondering if anyone has ever tried alternatives to Pitch for laps?
The only one I know about is Acculap.
http://firsthanddiscovery.com/astronomy/build-it-yourself/abrasives-polish-pitch.html

I ask this because Gugolz probably won't make it through Customs being a carcinogen. It's just a brand of Pitch right?
Or should I just forget about it and try for Pitch supplier here in Oz?


Thanks!:D

[Rod]

Hi

I have some gugolz pitch here and live in Mount Martha, not too far from you. Send me a pm if you are interested in coming down and collecting it. I also have optical polishing pads you can try. They are good for getting a quick polish but you still need to finish with pitch.

I haven't tried aculap but have friends who like it a lot. They say it is less temperature sensitive than pitch.

I bought my pitch from the US about ten years ago and had no trouble with customs then.

Rod.

[Geoff45]

I got some Gugolz from http://www.gotgrit.com/ without any problems. It was probably labled as mirror making kit or some such, which would have fooled the customs mob.
Geoff

[zathras]

Guys, thank you for your responses.

Rod I really appreciate the offer but I'm not that mobile at the moment.
You are an officer and a gentleman for offering though!
I ordered some small amount of Acculap from GoGrit to try it out. Not sure if 1/3lb is enough though.
More than 1/3 and postage become a bit hurtful.

Geoff, I figured most people have gotten away with grabbing some from GoGrit. Quite frankly, I'm a chicken and I don't want to try it.:sadeyes:

On a brighter note, I emailed a company called "Shell-Lap Supplies Pty Ltd" and a fellow called Andrew said that if I can't find Acculap here he could try to contact some supplier in the US for me.
I suggested he could consider adding it to their online store. Guess we'll see if they think it's worth while.

We'll see what happens.

:)

-Mark