---
term: "Metallographic Mounting"
category: "sample-preparation"
shortDefinition: "Encapsulating a specimen in resin (hot compression or cold pour) to support edges, retain fragile features, and produce a flat surface for grinding and polishing."
url: "https://vectorbtc.com.tr/resources/glossary/metallographic-mounting/"
---

**Metallographic mounting** stabilizes small, irregular, or layered specimens before abrasive preparation. Without mounting, thin sheet, wire, coatings, and porous powder metallurgy samples **round over or debond** under shear stresses during grinding.

**Hot mounting** uses thermosetting or thermoplastic presses at elevated temperature and pressure to produce **cylindrical mounts** with excellent edge retention when paired with harder resins. It is fast and dimensionally consistent but may thermally affect microstructure in sensitive alloys if temperature or time limits are exceeded.

**Cold mounting** pours **epoxy, acrylic, or polyester** resins at room temperature, ideal for **temperature-sensitive phases**, coatings, and electronic components. Vacuum impregnation fills porosity and cracks with dye-loaded resin to reveal void networks after polishing.

Mounting media should be **chemically compatible** with planned etchants and have **similar abrasion resistance** to the specimen to avoid relief between metal and resin during final polishing. Poor bonding creates **edge rounding** that falsifies layer thickness or inclusion ratings.