Recent research has proved the importance of a constant force of 40 kPa or greater on the paste solidus-grid interface. This has lead to increased interest in re-examining the microglass separator and thr system that the plate-separator interaction forms, This renewed interest has resulted in new separator ideas and the revisiting of concepts tried in the early days of valve-regulated lead/acid (VRLA) technology. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part examines some past separator developments that have been tried but are presently not accepted by the general VRLA community. This is due to the excellent performance of the microglass separator used so successfully during the last 20 years. Many fundamental questions that need to be asked regarding the selection of a new separator system have long ago been forgotten. The second part of the paper reviews some fundamental aspects of separator selection, and some important attributes that the separator must provide based on current knowledge of the separator system. Attributes such as toughness, corrosion resistance, compression, wicking, stratification, porosity and conformability are discussed.