Introduction
Polishing is used to smoothen a workpiece’s surface using an abrasive and a work wheel or a leather strop. Polishing refers to a process that uses an abrasive that is glued to the work wheel. It is more of an aggressive process.
Polishing is often used to improve the appearance of an item, prevent contamination of instruments, eliminate the oxidation, make a reflective surface, and prevent corrosion in the pipes. Precision polishing pads can give a great appearance to items.
When it comes to metallurgy, polishing is used to make a flat, defect-free surface for examination of a metal’s microstructure under a microscope. Silicon based polishing pads or a diamond solution can be used in the polishing process. Polishing stainless steel can increase the sanitary benefits of it.
Polishing is used to enhance and restore the looks of certain metal parts or objects on cars and other vehicles, handrails, cookware, kitchenware, and architectural metal. In other applications such as pharmaceutical, diary, and specialty plumbing, pipes are buffed to prevent corrosion and to eliminate locations where bacteria or mold may reside.
Types of the polishing pads
Although all polishing pads are designed to process the polishing agent in a very controlled way, there are many different types of material used for the polishing pad. Each material has pros and cons.
Foam polishing pads
Probably the most common polishing pad, the foam pad comes in many different sizes, forms, colors, shapes. The main difference with the material itself is the size of the cell, the types of the cell and thickness of the cell-walls. These change the hardness of the pad and its capabilities to absorb the material.
Microfiber polishing pads
They use the long and short strain fibres on a firm back plate. The microfibre is not much capable of absorbing the material but is capable of using more friction and pressure during the polishing.
Wool polishing pads
The wool polishing pads are either made from synthetic wool fibres or natural wool fibers that have been processed to make a common shape and size. They are attached to a firm blackplate and can be made on long fibers or short fibres.
PE fibres polishing pads
Certain pads can be made from synthetics strand of fibres that form a hard surface, these pads are not recommended for use on paintwork, but can give you increased results on surfaces like the glass or metal.
Wetsand pads
They can be made from various materials such as denim for coarse micro-abrasive and are designed to offer very high cutting power. The amount of cutting is so high that it is considered “standing” instead of polishing. Their pads should be used with caution and are often combined with libral amounts of water and lubrication agents.
How to Use polishing Pads
While everyone will have their own recommendation that you should follow, there are some basic rules to polishing pads that you need to keep in mind.
- You need to attach the pad to the center of the backing plate on your polisher.
- You need to prime the pad by applying a few small drops of polish evenly across the face of the pad into the pores of the pad.
- You have to make the polish into the pad with your fingers and repeat until the entire face of the pad contains polish. You want to make use of the less amount of polish you can to cover the face of the pad. It should be soaked.
- You need to apply three dime sized drops of fresh polish to the face of the pad and hear the edge.
- You need to place the pad against the surface you’re working on and move the pad around the surface a little to distribute the polish.
- You need to turn the machine on low and move it across the surface to completely distribute the polish.
- You need to turn the machine to medium-high and start polishing the surface.
- You need to make sure you periodically clean the pad or change it out for a fresh one as described in the section below.
- You need to repeat steps 4-8 on a used pad or 1-8 on a clean pad.
