Buffing Compound: Types, Color Chart and Applications

This article provides a detailed guide to buffing compounds and various forms of polishing compounds and their uses, helping manufacturers effectively differentiate between different buffing compounds.

What is the Buffing Compound?

Abrasive materials called buffing compounds are created by combining polishing powder with lipids and waxes to make a cake or bar. They are used to smooth metals in many industries to give a clean and polished finish and improve the effectiveness of the polishing and buffing wheel.

Types of Buffing Compounds

Based on applications, Buffing compounds come in many forms, with highly coarse surfaces ranging from highly rough to super-fine. Depending on the uses and smoothing needs, you can use different compounds throughout the process.

Buffing or polishing compounds are mainly divided into three categories:

• Cutting Compound

Tripoli is the cutting compound. Here, 'cutting' refers to how easily metal is cut directly by the buffing compound. Large cuts eliminate more cuts than lower ones. Tripoli compounds remove dull scratches and emery marks to provide a smooth, while dull, surface.

• Polishing Compound

Compounds that minimize rough surfaces and give a quality of luster.

• Finishing Rouges

At last, Finishing rouges provide high-quality polish & sharp finishing.

Buffing compounds are available in various forms and colors. Each is specifically suited to a particular part of the buffing, cutting, and polishing process. Some compounds are rougher and allow you to easily remove scratches from different metal surfaces. Some polishing compounds are gentler and are built to give your work a beautiful and shiny finish.

The significant difference between rouge compounds and tripoli compounds is: that 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.

Next, you will find the Buffing Compounds Color Chart along with their applications and applicable surfaces or metals. These are the most common buffing compounds, so choose them according to your needs.

Buffing Compounds Color Chart and Applications

Most Common Buffing Compounds and Their Applications

Metal polishing compounds like yellow, blue, and aluminum are specific for their respective applications, while other compounds are flexible and versatile. For example, on stainless steel surfaces, you can use a green or white buffing compound.

Below, We have summarized every buffing compound in detail with their applications.

1. BLACK EMERY COMPOUND

The Black compound is filled with emery minerals to give high-level cutting. It is an ideal buffing compound for removing scratches, small pits, plating, paint, antiquing, lacquer, and more from metallic surfaces. It will save you hours of work and effort. 

Black emery compound is perfect for heavy jobs. It removes rough surfaces and deep scratches and brings decent shine to the metal surface.

2. GREY STAR BUFFING COMPOUND

Greystar compound is suitable for general buffing applications. It has a fantastic cut for metals to bring good color quality. Greystar compound has a fine abrasive structure with medium-grade consistency. It is suitable for quick and accurate fire scale removal. It is best to use it on stainless steel with a more rigorous buffing wheel.

3. BROWN TRIPOLI

The brown Tripoli buffing compound is exceptionally versatile. It is widely used to polish surfaces on softer metals such as brass, copper, and aluminum. It can also be applied to wood surfaces, giving rise to a glossy finish.

4. WHITE ROUGE

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. It is occasionally referred to as the stainless steel compound. It prevents scratches and gives a mirror-like finish.

6. BLUE ROUGE

The blue polishing compound restores the original smoothness and sparkle on non-ferrous metals, plastics, or synthetic materials.

7. PINK ROUGE 

This dual-purpose pink compound gives a finishing touch in the primary stage of soft metal polishing and the final stage of hard metal polishing. As it can also be used for wood, painted walls, and plastic. Pink rouge is one of the most flexible buffing compounds.

8. BLACK ROUGE

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.

9. ALUMINUM BUFFING COMPOUND

Aluminum buffing compounds provide a smooth surface on soft metals.

10. YELLOW ROUGE

These dry, low-residue polishing compounds provide a dazzling shine on hard metals such as gold and platinum, which is why the jewelry industry is popular with this particular compound.

11. GOLD POLISHING COMPOUND

Gold polishing compounds have various grades of abrasives. The gold compound gives polished metals a high luster, making them another excellent choice for jewelers and metalworkers.

Factors To Consider While Selecting Buffing Compounds

Consider the following essential factors when choosing the buffing compounds-

• Material type

The first consideration when selecting a buffing compound is the type of material that will be used. When polishing a more durable material, such as stainless steel or metal, start with coarse abrasive compounds and progress to finer ones. Whenever working with softer materials such as copper, brass, etc., think about using a fine abrasive compound.

• Degree of surface damage

The degree of surface damage also determines the kind of polishing substance needed. To remove extensive scratches from the surface, a coarser abrasive compound will be required. However, light scratches require a finer compound to be removed.

• Cost

When choosing abrasive compounds, cost is another important consideration. The market offers a wide range of buffing compounds, each with a distinct price tag based on the type of job, material, brand, etc. Even while the majority of abrasive compounds are cheap, some uncommon or specialty abrasive compounds can be pricey. Consequently, cost is a major consideration when choosing buffing compounds. For a better understanding, constantly compare the pricing and durability.

• Intended outcome

You can select buffing compounds based on the outcome you hope to achieve with your project. Use a finer abrasive compound if you want a finish that resembles a mirror. For a matte finish, use coarser abrasives. By changing the buffing technique and speed, you can fully control the outcome.

Some Frequently Asked Q&A

1. How to Use Polishing Compound?

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 sparingly to the face of a rotating buffing wheel. Repeat compound application as needed during buffing and polishing operations. Applying the rotating buff to the work surface uses only moderate pressure, allowing the buffing wheel and the polishing compound to do the work.

2. How to Choose the Right Polishing Compound?

Polishing compounds are somehow equivalent to sandpaper as they are used from coarse to fine. Before polishing, a workpiece that is heavily scratched can have to be sanded down with sandpaper. When the scratch depth on the workpiece is minimal, it is recommended to start with the coarsest compound that applies to the polishing material. Then one can step down to the next buffing compound from there and so on until the desired finish is reached.

Using just one compound can often achieve a mirror finish. For example, with only the White Rouge Polishing Compound, a scratch-free aluminum piece with some haze from oxidation could be polished to a high luster.

3. How to Use Red Rouge Polishing Compound?

By spinning a buffing wheel on either a bench grinder or electric drill, add a red rouge polishing compound to a buffing wheel and press the compound or jewelry rouge gently onto the wheel. The spinning buffing wheel’s heat and friction will be necessary to pass the compound to the buff.

Red rouge polishing compounds smooth and shine metals, plastic, wood, and other materials. They are excellent compounds developed for buffing precious metals. A red buffing compound can achieve full luster and a mirror-like finish in jewelry.

4. How to Use Buffing Compound Sticks?

Carefully apply the polishing compound to the face of a rotating buffing wheel. 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. Keep the compound until the wheel has a light coating of the compound against the buffing wheel. There is only a small amount of compound needed.

5. How to Remove Polishing Compound Residue?

It is easy to remove buffing or polishing compound residue by simply,

• Wet an old or soft toothbrush with hot water and gently brush it to remove the dried polishing compound.
• To remove more sticky residue from the polishing compound, add a small amount of vegetable oil or smooth peanut butter and brush gently.