BUFFING AND

POLISHING
BUFFING AND POLISHING:
oPolishing and buffing are similar surface finishing
operations.
oPolishing is used to remove scratches and burrs from
a machined surface. It develops a very smooth
surface by means of abrasive grains embedded to a
polishing wheel rotating at high rpm.
oRotating speed is equal to 2300 meter per minute.
The rotating wheels are made of softer materials like
canvas, leather or paper.
oThus, the wheels are enough flexible to finish the
cavities and internal surface of intricate shapes.
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BUFFING:
oBuffing is similar to polishing in appearance, but its
function is different.
oBuffing is used to provide attractive surfaces with high
luster. Buffing is like a polishing operation in which
the workpiece is brought in contact with a revolving
cloth buffing wheel that usually has been charged
with a very fine abrasive as shown in the Figure.
oBuffing status is some where in between polishing
and lapping. A minor cutting action with microchip is
done in case of buffing.
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Buffing Wheel Performing Buffing Operation
oBuffing wheels are made of discs of liners, cotton, broad
cloth and canvas.
oThese are made more or less firm by the amount of
stitching used to fasten the layers of the cloth together.
oBuffing tools are enough flexible to polish upto interior of
intricate cavities. The buffing tools are named as BUFFING
ROUGES.
oThere are semi-automatic buffing machines available
consisting of a series of individually drivers buffing wheel
which can be adjusted to the desired position so as to buff
different positions of the workpiece.
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oThe workpieces are held in fixtures on a suitable
rotating worktable so as to move the buffing wheels.
oApplication of buffing produces mirror like finish. It is
used for finishing of automobile parts, boats, bicycles,
sport items, tools, furniture, fixtures, commercial and
residential hardware, house hold utensils and home
appliances, etc.
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POLISHING:
Polishing is the removal of material to produce a
scratch-free, specular surface using fine (<3 m)
abrasive particles.
Polishing is typically done at very low speeds using
either polishing cloths, abrasive films, or specially
designed lapping plates.
Polishing with a cloth or lapping plate requires the
use of free abrasive, and is a very low damage process
when performed properly.
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Plate material and cloth material are critical when
polishing a particular sample as the properties of
these substrates are important in the final polish
quality of the specimen.
Polishing with a lapping plate is a common process
used in the case of metals and hard ceramic type
materials.
Polishing using copper composite plates or tin/lead
lapping plates can produce high quality surface
finishes with high material removal rates.
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In many cases the use of a polishing cloth is required, and
thus the selection of a proper polishing cloth is important.
Polishing cloth properties needed depend on the
application. If flatness is of primary concern, short nap
cloths (such as Nylon) are used to maintain flatness.
When the final surface finish is of primary concern, longer
napped cloths (such as Rayon and Silk) are used.
Many cloth materials today combine the best of the
world, allowing flatness and surface finish combined to
provide maximum performance.
(Nap cloth Fuzzy furr like appearance).
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Polyurethane pads are commonly used for final polishing processes
and produce excellent flatness and surface finish.
Polishing with abrasive films also produces excellent results.
The flatness of the films combined with high removal rates makes
them an attractive alternative to cloth and plate polishing methods.
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Difference

Polishing Buffing
Technically polishing refers to
processes that use an abrasive
that is glued to the work wheel
while buffing uses a loose
abrasive applied to the work
wheel
Polishing is a more aggressive
process
while buffing is less harsh, which
leads to a smoother, brighter
finish
A common misconception is that
a polished surface has a mirror
bright finish
however most mirror bright
finishes are actually buffed