
Spin the buffing wheel on a bench grinder or electric drill. Gently push the polishing compound against the buffing wheel while it is spinning. Hold the compound against the buffing wheel until the wheel has a light layer of compound on it.
- Step 1: Identify the Material of The Surface. ...
- Step 2: Start From Coarser Compounds and Work Your Way Up in Steps. ...
- Step 3: Apply The Compound Onto the Revolving Buffing Wheel. ...
- Step 4: Hold the Item against the Revolving Buffing Wheel (or Vice Versa)
How do you Polish a rotating buffing wheel?
First, choose the most suitable polishing compound to be polished on the working surface material. Then, work with the appropriate coarsest compound. Apply the polishing compound to the face of a rotating buffing wheel sparingly. Repeat compound application as needed during buffing and polishing operations.
How do you use a polishing compound on a wheel?
Apply the polishing compound to the face of a rotating buffing wheel carefully. Repeat compound application as needed during buffing and polishing operations. On a bench grinder or electric drill, rotate the buffing wheel. When it is turning, drive the polishing compound stick gently against the buffing wheel.
How to polish metal with buffing compound?
How To Polish Metal - Basic Instructions Choose the most applicable buffing compound depending on the work surface material to be polished. Start with the coarsest applicable compound. Apply polishing compound sparingly to the face of a revolving buffing wheel. Repeat application of compound as needed during the buffing and polishing operations.
What type of buffing wheel should I use?
STEP 1: (CUT PHASE) You will use the red airway buffing wheel paired with our black magic polishing compound. Our red airway buffing wheel is an absolute favorite for even polishing aluminum because it is stiffer and has a heavier cut for polishing.

How do you use polishing compound by hand?
2:414:29How to Apply Compound, Polish and Wax by Hand - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipA small amount directly on the pad apply to a two foot by two foot section at a time using light toMoreA small amount directly on the pad apply to a two foot by two foot section at a time using light to moderate pressure in a circular pattern.
How do you true a buffing wheel?
1:003:56How to Prep Felt & Buffing Wheels - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou can simply put a piece of sandpaper on a block of wood the objective is to get just a flat pieceMoreYou can simply put a piece of sandpaper on a block of wood the objective is to get just a flat piece to hold it up against the felt wheel to make it flat.
What is the difference between rubbing and polishing compound?
Rubbing compounds basically targets the uneven car's surfaces caused by scratches while on the other hand; polishing is preferably used for adding smoothness and shine to the car paint. Both will help in improving your car's quality but in a different way.
How do you polish metal with polishing compound?
Apply polishing compound sparingly to the face of a revolving buffing wheel. Repeat application of compound as needed during the buffing and polishing operations. Use only slight pressure in applying the revolving buff to the work surface, thereby allowing the buffing wheel and the polishing compound to do the work.
How fast should a buffing wheel turn?
between 3600 & 7500 Surface Feet Per MinuteFor best results your wheel should maintain a surface speed of between 3600 & 7500 Surface Feet Per Minute.
Are buffing wheels directional?
The workpiece should be moved against the direction of the wheel, using a medium to hard pressure. Color buffing further refines the surface and brings out maximum luster. The workpiece should be moved toward the direction of the wheel using medium to light pressure.
Should you polish after compound?
After compounding, polish is used to remove any remaining defects. A handheld polishing machine has a motorized spinning head that can spread polish on a car's surface to remove microscopic layers of paint and restore a vehicle's smooth surface. Polish acts like finer grit sandpaper than compound.
What goes first compound or polish?
The Quick Answer. Polishing and compounding are both methods of correcting a car's paint by removing a layer of clear coat. Compounding removes scratches from the paint more quickly whilst, polishing refines the finish by cutting the paint slowly. Compounding is often followed by polishing to correct the paint fully.
What pads to use with rubbing compound?
3M's white foam pads are suitable for compounding, their black pads for polishing, and their light blue pads for ultra-fine polishing or applying wax. Foam pads will often have a convoluted face designed to better hold compounds and polishes so as to reduce the slinging of the liquid off the pad during use.
What is white buffing compound used for?
White polishing compound is used to polish harder metals like stainless steel and metals that are chrome or nickel-plated. When used on hard metals, it gives them a bright shine.
What is the difference between red and green polishing compound?
GREEN = Used exclusively for Stainless Steel. Abrasive: green chromium (III) oxide. RED = Jeweller's Rouge, designed to polish without any cutting action.
What is the grit of polishing compound?
As rubbing compounds are quite aggressive, they can be purchased in varying degrees, from 1000 grit to 5000 grit. These different grits handle the different depths of paint scratches. The deeper the scratch, the higher the grit value of the rubbing compound required to do the job.
What are buffing compounds used for?
Buffing compounds are used with buffing and polishing wheels to increase the effectiveness of the wheel and to help you accomplish your tasks more quickly. They come in all different types and colors, each uniquely suited to a different aspect of the buffing, cutting, and polishing process.
Why use a compound for metal polishing?
For big jobs and work that requires a lot of work to remove rough surfaces or deep scratches, you should always start with this compound because it will save you hours of work and effort. It even starts the polishing process for you, typically leaving metals with a fair shine on the surface when you are done.
What is polinum polish?
Polinum is a rouge that is commonly known as Orange-Glow. This is a specialty compound was designed to allow you to polish platinum, white gold, yellow gold, and stainless steel. It provides a powerful polishing action that produces an unbelievable sparkling gloss to your metals. Originally designed to be used on watch cases and watch bands, Polinum is great for watchmakers and is frequently used by Rolex repairmen to bring a watch back up to its original luster.
What is a white rouge compound?
White rouge compounds are a great finishing compound, particularly for harder metals like chrome and things that have been nickel plated . It will provide a light level of cutting edge to your buffing wheel giving those harder metals a brilliant shine when you are finished. Also known as a blizzard compound, it can be used provide a final finish to harder metals, or lighter cutting action on softer ones.
What is tan bobbing compound?
The tan bobbing compound is known for its fast cutting action, making quick work of removing light scratches and things like fire-scale from metal. It is an ideal pre-polishing compound, easily smoothing the surface of the precious metals like gold and silver to ready the surface for polishing.
Can you use a compound on brass?
It is the best compound to use on softer metals like brass, copper, aluminum and various pot metals. It can also be safely used on things like stainless steel and wood surfaces, giving the wood a lustrous finish when you are done.
What is buffing compound?
Buffing compounds are an abrasive compound composed of polishing powder blended to form a cake or bar with waxes and fats. They are used to smooth metals in many industries to give a clean and polished finish and improve the polishing and buffing wheel's effectiveness.
How to polish a wheel?
First, choose the most suitable polishing compound to be polished on the working surface material. Then, work with the appropriate coarsest compound. Apply the polishing compound to the face of a rotating buffing wheel sparingly. Repeat compound application as needed during buffing and polishing operations.
What is the best polishing compound for stainless steel?
White polishing compounds, used mainly on hard metals and stainless steel, have a more refined composition that makes them suitable for the polishing process’s cutting and intermediate stages. 5. GREEN ROUGE. The green metal polishing compound is perfect for finishing stainless steel surfaces.
What is black polishing compound used for?
The black polishing compound is used in low quantities to add shine to aluminum, steel, copper, brass, and similar metals. If you need to remove deep scratches or smooth some rough surfaces, the black emery compound is recommended in particular.
What is finishing rouge?
In the end, Finishing rouges that provide high-quality polish & sharp finishing. Buffing compounds are available in various forms and colors. Each of them is specifically suited to a particular part of the process of buffing, cutting, and polishing.
How to remove sticky residue from a polishing compound?
Wet an old or soft toothbrush with hot water and gently brush to remove the dried polishing compound. To wipe out more sticky residue from the polishing compound, add a small amount of either vegetable oil or smooth peanut butter and brush gently.
What is the difference between a tripoli compound and a rouge compound?
The significant difference between rouge compounds and tripoli compounds is: rouges are usually used for polishing and finishing work. In contrast, tripoli compounds are used for cutting and buffing to remove scratches from the metal.
Compound bars
Our polishing compound rouge bars are mostly industry standard as far as colors go, so our green rouge would be equivalent to the green rouge from Jackson Lea, Menzerna, or Foremax. This is important to note if you are trying to cross reference bars and figure out which of your bars is what in relation to this chart above.
What are polishing compound bars made out of?
Polishing compound bars are made abrasive grains, stearic acid (binder), tallow & wax. compound bars depending on the color will vary in the abrasive grain that is used, whether it be coarse grains to help remove abrasive scratches or super fine micro abrasives for a mirror polish.
What bars are best for removing heavy scratch marks?
If you see on the chart we have two aggressive bars that are used in polishing. The first is the black compound bar which is our stainless cutting bar. This bar is used for polishing on stainless steel and can remover scratch marks as coarse as 320 grit and 400 grit. Typically you would pair this bar with our Red Treated airway buffing wheel!
What bars are best for a 2 step mirror polish on aluminum or stainless steel?
When it comes to polishing stainless steel or aluminum, you are dealing with two completely different forms of metal. Aluminum for instance, is very porous, absorbs compound and is typically very thin. This will require a compound that fills in these pours and gently polishes the surface of the aluminum.
What is the No Scratch Pink Polishing Compound used for?
Our special pink blend of micro abrasives and binders are used to make the best bar you will ever use for polishing plastics, composites, fiberglass & wood materials! This bar is a finer finishing bar that is meant to be used on already smoothed surfaces. This is a one-step bar! This bar can be used with our UBM (untreated) buffing wheel .
WHAT POLISHING COMPOUND BAR DO YOU USE TO GET A MIRROR POLISH?
We have a very real and very controversial philosophy on polishing compound bars here. While white rouge and blue rouge are very popular in the industry for high luster bars mostly due to them being around for so long, we feel that these are not the best choice, although they do leave a great finish if that's what you are used to.
WHAT POLISHING COMPOUND BAR IS BEST FOR POLISHING JEWELRY?
When it comes to jewelry, there is only one bar that should be used and thats the Jewelers Red Rouge. This bar is ideal for polishing precious metals like silver, gold, and platinum to a mirror finish.
What is the second step of metal polishing called?
When you see why haze marks in your second step, this is typically called "tiger striping" which is missed spots in the cut phase of your polish.
Does Renegade have buffing wheels?
Many people often think that just because Renegade Products has the best buffing wheels and buffing compounds, that this automatically will make their work look like a professional. We always recommend plenty of practice and patience when metal polishing because it is an acquired skill!
What is rubbing compound?
Sometimes also referred to as a cutting compound, a rubbing compound is a product that is used to restore the finish and appearance of a vehicle’s paintwork; but you will only get the results you want if you know how to properly use a rubbing compound. The product usually takes the form of a thick liquid or paste and comprises ...
Do you need eye protection with buffing machine?
Eye protection, in the form of a pair of goggles or protective glasses, is strongly advised, especially if using a buffing machine or machine applicator. Related Post: Best Car Buffers and Best Safety Glasses.
Can you put a grit guard on a paint bucket?
If washing by hand you are advised to fit a grit guard to your water bucket – these devices prevent grit and dirt from being picked up by your sponge and re-applied to the paint, possible causing more scratches. It is essential to ensure that there is no grit or dirt on the area to be treated.
Can you use a compound to remove scratches?
On the other hand, if you need to get rid of minor scratches and scuff marks then you may need to use a more abrasive compound, possibly finishing off with a lighter variety. Heavier marks and scratches may also need a machine to apply the compound with whereas less serious jobs can be done by hand if no machine is available.
