English (UK)Buffing Products Documentation
Polishing Product Information
Here we will try and give you a little more information to help you choose the correct polishing products for your task at hand.
Your needs may vary.
Buffing Wheels
Wheel Size
What size of wheel? This is dependent on the surface speed of the wheel required to polish the product that you wish to polish.
Buffing Stainless should be above 7000 SFPM, Aluminum should be around 3000-3500 SFPM, Plastic should be 2000-3500 SFPM.
So, how can we vary our speeds? One is by changing the RPM's of the tool, the other is the size of the buff wheel.
BUFF RUNNING SPEEDS
For best results your wheel should maintain a surface speed of between 2000 & 7500 Surface Feet Per Minute. (SFPM). The higher your speed, the better and quicker your results as long as the speed isn't to fast for the polishing task at hand.
Damage can occur if too much heat is created for the product being buffed.
Formula for calculating surface speed of wheel in SFPM.
SFPM = 1/4 x diameter of Wheel x RPM (revs of spindle per min.)
The following are some wheel size/rpm's sample calculations.
8 inch wheel on a 3750 RPM buffer gives us 7600 SFPM
4 inch wheel on a 3750 RPM buffer gives us 3750 SFPM
8 inch wheel on a 1750 RPM buffer gives us 3500 SFPM
6 inch wheel on a 1750 RPM buffer gives us 2725 SFPM
4 inch wheel on a 1750 RPM buffer gives us 1750 SFPM
Using the incorrect wheel/buffer speed combination can give us unsatisfactory results.
Wheel Thickness
Multiple wheels can be mounted or stacked to achieve a thicker polishing surface. More surface area will require more power. Verify that your buffer has the power to pull the amount of wheel that you desire.
Motor Size | Wheel Diameter | ||||
| 4” | 6” | 8” | 10” | 12” |
1/6 hp | 1” | 5” | - | - | - |
1/4 hp | 1.5” | 1” | 5” | - | - |
1/3 hp | 2.5” | 2” | 1” | - | - |
1/2 hp | 3” | 2.5” | 2” | 1” | - |
3/4 hp | 4.5” | 3.5” | 2.5” | 2” | 1” |
Which Type of Wheel?
Choosing the correct wheel for the job can be a tough decision. Hopefully this will help.
| Plastics | Precious Metals | Nickel and Chrome | Aluminum and other soft metals | Steel and Iron | Stainless Steel | |||||||
| Buff Wheel Type | ||||||||||||
| Sisal | OPT | A | A | |||||||||
| Spiral Sewn | A | B | B | |||||||||
| Loose | X | B | C | C | ||||||||
| Canton Flannel | X | |||||||||||
| String | X | |||||||||||
| Coumpound | ||||||||||||
| Black Emery | OPT | A | A | |||||||||
| Brown Tripoli | OPT | X | A | B | ||||||||
| White Rouge | A | B | ||||||||||
| White Med Plastic | A | C | ||||||||||
| Blue Fine Plastic | B | X | B | |||||||||
| Green Stainless SCR | B | C | ||||||||||
| Red | X | C | ||||||||||
BLACK = Emery Compound, a course abrasive material for removal of scratches, pits, paint,
rust etc.
BROWN = Tripoli compound used for general purpose cut and color on most soft metals.
WHITE = Blizzard compound, used for color and final finish of harder metals, has a cutting action.
RED = Jeweler’s Rouge, designed to polish without any cutting action. Safe on thin plates. Use
on its own wheel.
BLUE = A dryer, almost greaseless wheel - designed to polish without any cutting action. Safe
on thin plates. Use on its own wheel.
GREEN = Used exclusively for Stainless Steel.
THE THREE BUFFING STAGES
A = Rough Cut To Remove Scratches
B = Final Cut & Initial Polish - At Stage B, you should first use your wheel with a cutting action, then finish with a color action.
C = Final Polish (or luster)
X= optional step or dependent on needs
