Abstract: Wafers have material removed from them in processes such as lapping or polishing without the use of hold down adhesives to secure the wafers to a wafer mounting plate. The front side of a polymeric mounting pad on a wafer mounting plate is moistened with a liquid, the wafers are rendered shedding of that liquid and substantially free of adhesion diminishing particles and powder and are mounted on the moistened mounting pad. It is critical that the wafers shed the liquid with which the pad is moistened. The wafers are pressed firmly against the mounting pad in order to assure their continued adhesion to the pad during the material removal process. The wafer mounting plate is then mounted in the lapping, polishing or other material removal machine and the wafers lapped or polished in a normal manner. After completion of the desired material removal the wafers may be removed from the mounting pad with tweezers or by floating the wafers off the mounting pad.