The state of the polymeric alignment surface used in ferroelectric liquid crystal alignment, before, during and after the so-called buffing process, has been of interest for some considerable time. Various processes have been proposed as to the nature of the deformational mechanism : localised melting of the polymer film, uniaxial deformation of the polymer, deposition of buffing material or microgrooving of the polymer film resulting in localised surface roughness. In this paper optical results are presented using both conventional attenuated total reflection measurements, optical surface plasmon resonance and scanning electron microscopy, which suggest that buffing is likely to be a combination of both increased surface roughness and the deposition of buffing material, in agreement with other workers.