I’ve had a similar experience with alumina suspension as a final polishing step. I usually introduce it after the finest diamond stage (often 1 µm or below), and I’ve found that pad selection really matters—softer pads tend to give me a more uniform, scratch-free finish, especially on ceramics. Controlling slurry concentration and keeping the surface clean between stages also makes a big difference in consistency. For me, alumina works best as the true final step when the goal is surface clarity rather than material removal. On a totally different note, discussions like this—where small process optimizations lead to noticeably better results—actually remind me of games like Brainrot Clicker.