What Are Buffing And Polishing

You may hear of buffing and polishing, they are two finishing processes commonly used in manufacturing. They involve smoothing the surface of a workpiece to improve its aesthetics and physical properties. However, many people don't know that buffing and polishing are not the same. They have unique characteristics. So, what is the difference between buffing and polishing?

What is buffing?

Buffing involves the finishing process using loose abrasives on the wheel. To polish a workpiece, a manufacturing company may use a wheel covered with grinding discs. The loose abrasive on the disc essentially removes surface material and imperfections, resulting in a smoother surface.

What is polishing?

Polishing is a finishing process that usually involves abrasives attached to wheels using glue or other adhesives. Therefore, polishing is considered a more aggressive finishing process compared to polishing. It removes more surface material from the surface of the workpiece, resulting in a brighter, more polished surface.

Buffing and Polishing Abrasives

Both polishing and buffing require the use of abrasives, which come in low, medium and high-grit abrasives. The grit size of an abrasive reflects its smoothness, with low-grit abrasives being particularly coarse because they contain less grit than medium- and high-grit abrasives. Therefore, the buffing and polishing process usually starts with a low grit size abrasive and then moves on to a higher grit size abrasive. It is very important to use the correct type of abrasive when polishing and buffing. The workpiece may be damaged if the wrong abrasive is used.