Quick answer: Polishing removes material to level a surface and take out scratches; buffing removes almost nothing and brings up the shine. Polishing uses an abrasive – sanding discs, flap discs or a polishing solution – and comes first. Buffing uses a cloth wheel and a compound bar and comes last, in two steps: cut buffing to remove fine scratches, then color buffing for the mirror finish. If the surface is already smooth, skip polishing and go straight to buffing.
What buffing is
Buffing gives shine and evenness to a surface and works on glass, wood, aluminum, copper, brass, stainless and plastic. The two things you need are a buffing wheel and a buffing compound. Wheels come as airway, spiral sewn, loose sewn and sisal buffs; we manufacture airway wheels in 6" through 20", with or without a center plate.
To apply compound, hold the bar against the spinning wheel – heat and friction transfer it onto the cloth. If you load too much, a buffing rake takes the excess off.
Cut buffing vs. color buffing
Cut buffing is the first step. It uses a coarser compound – the black stainless bar or brown tripoli – on a stiff wheel, with more pressure, to remove the fine scratches left by sanding. Color buffing is the second step: a fine compound (green rouge, yellow deluxe, purple, blue or white rouge) on a softer wheel, with lighter pressure, to remove the cut-buffing marks and bring up the luster.
Buffing by material
- Stainless steel – two steps: red airway wheel with the black stainless bar, then pink airway with yellow deluxe. For maximum shine, add a white or UBM wheel with blue rouge.
- Aluminum – orange airway with brown tripoli, then yellow airway with green rouge.
- Plastic – an orange or white airway or a loose sewn buff with the No Scratch Pink bar. Stiffer wheels and cutting bars will destroy plastic.
Compound bars, most to least aggressive
| Bar | Use |
|---|---|
| Black stainless bar | Removes 320–400 grit scratches. Stainless steel. |
| Brown tripoli | Removes visible scratches during restoration. Aluminum. |
| Yellow deluxe / green rouge | Softer luster finish. Yellow for stainless, green for aluminum. |
| No Scratch Pink | Wood, plastics and composites. |
| Blue rouge / white rouge | High luster finish. |
| Purple | Mirror finish on almost any metal. |
| Jeweler's red rouge | Soft, fine metals – silver, gold, platinum. Maximum luster. |
Buffing wheels and speeds
| Wheel | Step | Pair with | RPM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red treated airway | First step, stainless | Black stainless bar | 3000–3500 |
| Orange treated airway | First step, aluminum | Brown tripoli | 3000–3500 |
| Pink treated airway | Second step, stainless | Yellow deluxe | 2800–3200 |
| Yellow treated airway | Second step, aluminum | Green rouge | 2800–3200 |
| UBM untreated / Domet flannel | Show-shine mirror finish | Purple or fine rouge | No more than 2200 |
Buy the right size wheel for your machine – 8", 10", 14", 16", 18" and 20" – and note whether it needs a center plate. See our full buffing wheel and compound chart.
What polishing is
Polishing levels a surface – removing scratches left by sanding or built up over time – and is used on metal, glass, plastic, marble and stone. It's a coarser, more aggressive process than buffing and it generates a lot of heat, which is why many people polish with flap discs, which let air move through the abrasive. Where buffing uses a compound bar, polishing typically uses a liquid polishing solution.
The difference between polishing and buffing
Polishing is harsher than buffing because it carries more abrasive, so it's better at removing deep scratches and lines. Buffing is the two-step process – cut then color – that smooths the marks polishing leaves and brings up the shine. People assume polishing gives the better shine; it's actually buffing that produces the mirror finish. If the surface isn't in bad shape, skip polishing and go straight to buffing.
