Polishing powder is usually composed of cerium oxide, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, iron oxide, zirconium oxide, chromium oxide and other components. Different materials have different hardness and different chemical properties in water, so the application occasions are different. Alumina and chromia have a Mohs hardness of 9, ceria and zirconia have a Mohs hardness of 7, and iron oxide is lower. Cerium oxide and silicate glass have higher chemical activity and comparable hardness.

Therefore, it is widely used in glass polishing. In order to increase the polishing speed of cerium oxide, fluorine is usually added to the cerium oxide polishing powder to increase the grinding rate. Mixed rare earth polishing powder with low cerium content is usually doped with 3-8 fluorine; pure cerium oxide polishing powder is usually not doped with fluorine. For ZF or F series glass, because of its low hardness and high fluorine content, it is better to use fluorine-free polishing powder.