Abstract: A short CMP polish process is provided which removes minimal amounts of oxide and reduces defectivity at the surface of the wafer during short periods of rework by maintaining a high pH at the wafer surface in the presence of a high pH slurry. In one embodiment of the present inventions, the first platen of a multi-platen CMP machine is skipped for polishes of a short duration. In a second embodiment, a large amount of slurry is used to prime the second polish platen, thus displacing deionized water at the surface of the wafer which would ordinarily lower the initial pH of the process. Additionally, downforce may be minimized to reduce defectivity.