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Is there really a "right" way to clean an EM column or the individual parts that go into the column? For every person who will say that POL™ is good and Brasso™ is bad, there will be another one who will say the reverse is true. Yet both can end up getting excellent results with the respective microscopes. So who is right? The manufacturers of electron microscopes in Japan recommend the use of PikalŪ Paste, something not readily available outside of Japan (except from SPI Supplies).
Others have proposed preparing a cleaning solution of ammonia in water where concentrated ammonia is diluted 2:1 (ammonia:water), the Wehnelt cap is put into the beaker containing the solution, and then put into an ultrasonic cleaner for several minutes or until it is clean. Some find that a little PIKAL paste is still needed whereas others report that no further cleaning and polishing is needed.
One expert on this topic, Mr. Luc Harmsen who is a long time service engineer, has published his own recommendations for cleaning the microscope. We think this is worthwhile reading for anyone who maintains a column instrument.
We ourselves don't have any particular recommendation, all of these approaches seem to "work" but perhaps some work better in some situations than other methods. For the new user, we would suggest considering trying more than one method so that you can end up using the one most optimum for you.
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