hray i teach faceting and yes lava will help clean laps(cutting) don’t use on polishing laps use a master lap for the thin topper laps and the china ones are much more affordable. have 8″ but quite often use just 6″‘ers. i teach and use a GOOD tin lap. there are solids like the BATT lap and if you get one use only one same grit on both sides, use one side till you get problems then the other. if it gets contaminated you’ll have to have a .005 cut done on it by a lathe. ive searched all over and found one seller of a REAL fine quality diamond powder and i use only a TIN lap with 50,000 grit diamond powder to polish and use only water, no oils, pastes, compounds, wetting agents. i hope you have a machine that can run very slow. i use one drop per 25-35 seconds, just enough to keep lap wet but not wash off the powder when you apply it with finger tip near center. it works so well for me i’ve even polished from a 400 onto the 50k on tin. i just got Jeff Theesfeld trying it and i think he likes it too as other members are now trying with success. the person i get my 50k from is now trying to get set up in L.A. to supply the volume needed. with shipping i paid 9.5 cents/ct—-$95/1000cts and 25 cts goes a very long ways when your not flinging or washing it off the tin lap with water and powder the 50k works into the tin surface so your charging it and by masking it a not quite dry mud of it it works hard. so well i some times use it to actually polish meet my facets meets. ANOTHER thing if i think i have a potential to contaminate, clean out your splash pan before going to polish. i polish all stones all hardness’s this way so don’t need a pile of laps and polishing agent to get the job done.