Airway Buffing Wheels For Metal Polishing

Our Airway Buffing Wheels are made by using different mill treatments and fabric construction methods to create wheels of various stiffness levels to be used on different metals. Orange And Yellow are typically designed for use on aluminum while our Red and Pink treatments are designed for use on stainless steel. Our UBM and Flannel wheels are designed for a final finish and can be used for both aluminum or stainless steel.

You use the edge of the buffing wheel to polish? 

Yes! This is called edge buffing and the method is often used when polishing metal with an angle grinder, a buffing wheel, and compound. See below:

What size buffing wheel should I use for polishing?

We recommend a 9" Airway Buffing Wheel size for most cases—it offers a great balance of maneuverability without compromising the useful life of the buffing wheel. For greater detail work, consider an 8" buffing wheel. The 10" and 12" (custom size) are often so large as to only to be used by professionals on large flat work, such as a fuel tanker. Businesses, professionals, and skilled users may find that 10" Airway Buffing Wheels are ideal for them because of the longer life of the wheel. Some users purchase 10" Airway Buffs with the intention of wearing them down to 8" or 9" to use for their detailed work, as opposed to buying multiple sizes.

Pairing buffing wheels with polishing compound correctly:

Aluminum Metal Polishing

Polishing aluminum with our airway buffing wheels are typically done in a two-step process. We recommend pairing our Brown Tripoli Metal Polishing Compound with our Orange Airway Buffing Wheel as the first step.

For the second step in polishing aluminum, we would want to pair our Yellow Airway Buffing Wheel with our Green Rouge Metal Polishing Compound.

Stainless Steel Metal Polishing

Polishing stainless steel with our Airway Buffing Wheels is typically a two step process. The first step is to pair our red airway buffing wheel with out Black Magic Compound. The second step involves using a Pink buffing wheel with our Yellow Deluxe Compound. For an extra show-shine finish, some use a white buffing wheel with our Blue Rouge Metal Polishing Compound at no more than 2,200 RPM.

How to polish aluminum wheels:

To polish aluminum and stainless steel wheels, pair the appropriate metal buffing and polishing compound (as listed above) with a smaller diameter airway buffing wheel to get into the hard-to-reach areas of the wheel.

Pro tip: Always rake your buffing wheels.

How do I use a buffing wheel rake?

Why should I use a buffing wheel rake? 

Raking your buff removes hardened and burned on polishing and buffing compound from the edges of your buffing wheel. Compound build up can reduce the efficiency of the buffing wheel while also creating a rougher surface. If you notice a significant decrease in the residual metal dust produced when buffing, rake the buffing wheel and reapply a small amount of metal polishing compound.

What Polisher/Grinder Goes best with these buffing wheels? 

MAKITA 9237C- The best 3,500 RPM polishing machine (PROS & BEGINNERS) 

MAKITA GA7021 - The best 6,000 RPM polishing machine (PROS) 

What are the safety requirements for buffing wheels & metal polishing? 

We HIGHLY recommend that you use a full face respirator mask! This FULL FACE RESPIRATOR MASK  is highly recommended and great quality. 

Generally speaking, our Airway Buffing Wheels should be run at the following speeds:

• First Stage/ "Cut" Stage: 3,000 to 3,500 RPM
• Orange Wheel + Brown Compound for Aluminum
• Red Wheel + Black Compound for Steel

• Second Stage/ "Color" Stage: 2,200 to 2,800 RPM
• Yellow Wheel + Green Compound for Aluminum
• Pink Wheel + Yellow Compound for Steel
• Purple Wheel + Blue or White Compound

• Third Stage/ "Finish" Stage: 1,800 to 2,200 RPM
• Flannel or UBM Wheel + Purple Bar for both Aluminum and Steel