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Analyze your selection and locate the right metal polishing machines for your purposes

A crucial element of providing metal buffing services is the machines. These allow fast and easy work through spinning wheels with various attachments, eliminating the tiring work of doing each job by hand. You can ensure high productivity in your business and provide better, quicker products and services.

I recommend: Supply your business with metal polishing machines and buffing motors from providers like Eastwood and TP Tools and Equipment. Both companies have several different products available, including floor and table-mounted models with varying speeds and powers to

Outfit your business with the buffing supplies you'll need to go with your machines

Because many machines have different attachments and there are other steps involved, you'll need further supplies. For a full-service business, you'll need abrasive discs, buffing pads and cloths and various other accessories.

I recommend: Look into metal polishing and buffing supplies like buffing pads and abrasive discs at Abrasive-Supplies.com and English Custom Polishing. You have your choice of various disc sizes and several buffing wheels and pads of many materials.

Look into your options for the buffing compound befitting your needs

A buffing compound is a lightly abrasive material mixed with a polishing oil, usually in bar form. Make use of these products for the final stages of your metal polishing tasks to achieve quality surfaces for your customers. Evaluate the compound types you'll need and decide which company can supply your requirements.

I recommend: Check into the metal polish and buffing compounds available from distributors such as Southwest Metal Finishing Supply Company and Bright Works. Each company has various compounds you can evaluate for different types of jobs and metals, including aluminum and chrome polishing.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check with the companies you choose when buying your buffing and polishing supplies because some products work best in conjunction with certain other products. Certain buffing pads, for example, might be optimal with particular compounds.

Guide to Buffing and Polishing

How to find the buffing supplies you need for any surface

By Lesley Graybeal

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Get your buffing supplies in a complete polishing kit

Many wood and metal polishing machines are sold in a kit with the necessary wheels or pads. Polishing compounds also may be included. If you're looking for your first set of buffing and polishing equipment, consider purchasing products in a kit, which may also come with additional instructional support for new users.

I recommend: Caswell Electroplating offers buffing wheels and buffing kits, as well as a helper tool to find the right buffer for your job, and online support. Bright Works sells polishing and buffing kits and has an instructional video available for customers in need of additional project help.

Get compounds for buffing and polishing solid surfaces

The buffing process also requires that you use buffing compounds along with your machine-operated buffing pads. The purpose of a polishing compound is to serve as a chemical solution that combines with the physical effect of the buffing wheel to create an overall final polish.

I recommend: Search for the polishing compounds you need with Southwest Metal Finishing Supply or with TP Tools & Equipment. TP Tools & Equipment sells a more limited selection of compounds, but also sells a compound caddy for easy storage and portability of your polishing supplies.

Tackle the toughest buffing using abrasive solutions

Abrasives are an alternative to a traditional buffing compound that can be used with blasting equipment to buff extremely rough surfaces faster. Abrasives and blasting may be used either as an alternative to buffing supplies, or as a first step to prepare a rough surface for buffing and polishing.

I recommend: Regal Associates sells abrasives, in addition to standard buffing and polishing equipment and compounds. Eastwood is another company that provides abrasives solutions as well as blasting equipment for sand and soda compounds.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you or your business doesn't have a long-term need for buffing equipment or metal polishing machines, consider renting equipment for short-term use. Especially if you need to do any abrasive blasting, to prepare for refining work, you may find it a better use of your resources to rent a blaster and then purchase a smaller polishing kit.

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Learn buffing and polishing basics such as material needs and instructions

Metal polishing and buffing is simply the use of sanding and smoothing materials like buffing pads to treat various metals to create a more precise or attractive surface. Polishing is the rough work, which includes sanding; buffing is the finer finishing touches. Different types of metal require different polishing materials and different techniques, so you have a wide field in which to establish your specialty.

I recommend: Create a foundation of knowledge regarding buffing equipment, such as pads, machines and other items, by checking out Caswell, which details some of the materials you'll need as well as going through some buffing basics. Then, build on your information with some beginning instructions for polishing from hobbytool.com.

Get some detailed, step-by-step instructions on the nitty-gritty of buffing and polishing

Now that you've got some basic info about buffing supplies and an overview of the methods, expand your knowledge into the individual steps involved in the work. How do you prepare the metal? In what order should you apply the different buffers and polishers? Learn about the buffing machine that will work for you; a faster speed like 3600 rpm is best for metal. Softer metals like aluminum are much easier to treat and require less time than steel; consider these things in your work schedule.

I recommend: Use the tutorial outlined at Classics and Customs to build up your knowledge of buffing and polishing steps, and fill in more detail and pointers from the forum entry at Z28.com, which explains aluminum and steel polishing, for an example.

Pick up helpful metal polish techniques and hints for various applications

Many applications, including metal work such as aluminum, steel and chrome polishing, exist for a wide array of fields ranging from motorcycles to machine tooling and jewelery. Knowing some helpful hints will benefit you in your business. For instance, make sure that your surface is clean of all paint, rust and other coatings. Also, be aware of the correct amount of pressure to apply to a metal when buffing.

I recommend: Make good use of metal polishing machines and materials; get the know-how about technique and specialty from companies such as Schaffner and PF Online. Schaffner provides safety and time-saving hints for increased productivity, and PF details preparation and usage tips for aluminum polish procedures and those for similar soft metals.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you're working on plated parts, don't use buffing wheels and compound to get a high luster. You could thin the plate so much that the metal below shows through.

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Surface finishing

Surface finishing is the process through which an object, usually metal or wood, returns to a like-new condition. In some cases, surface finishing takes an object and smooths the surface to achieve the final product.

I recommend: For more information on surface finishing, visit Extrude Hone, which offers a description of its services and provides links to the two types of finishing processes used in the company.

Buffing machine

A buffing machine uses a wheel and a compound to replace the elbow grease required in buffing something by hand. There are a variety of wheels and compounds that you can use, and the best wheel and compound for your task depend on certain factors like the type of material you plan to buff and polish.

I recommend: Caswell offers a variety of buffing machines and offers a "Pick-A-Buff Helper" so you can determine the best buffing machine for your needs.

Compounds

Manufacturers design compounds to rough up the surface in the buffing portion of the buffing and polishing process. Compounds vary in their abrasive quality, much like sandpaper grades.

I recommend: Ted Pella provides a description for several different polishing compounds and describes the types of surfaces for which you can use each compound.

Abrasives

While manufactures use an abrasive quality to grade compounds, in buffing and polishing, abrasives have a separate definition. The term abrasive refers to a compound with chemical reactivity. If you use an abrasive on the wrong type of surface, it can scratch or damage the surface.

I recommend: PACE Technologies provides a scientific definition of the most commonly used polishing abrasives.

Blasting equipment

When damage occurs from substances like mold, smoke, rust or another intrusive property, you may need to use sandblasting equipment, also called blasting equipment, to remove all traces of the damage. Most sandblasters use fine sand to blast away any damage, but in some cases blasting equipment may use another agent such as baking soda.

I recommend: Norton Sandblasting Equipment sells a complete blasting kit with safety equipment included, and it also offers sandblasting solutions for prospective customers.

Belly pad

When you work with buffing and polishing equipment, you need to take preventative safety measures. One common safety item is the belly pad, which is a padded, protective covering designed to protect your belly from heat and any pieces of material that come off during the buffing and polishing process.

I recommend: View an example of a belly pad at the website for Southwest Metal Finishing Supply.