The choice of a diamond polishing pad depends on many factors and one of them is the grit size. The pad design and efficiency, and accordingly its purpose of use is much dependent on the grit. You would get different types of diamond polishing pads for different purposes.
Diamond Polishing Pad Types in Common:
Some of the most common types of polishing pad styles are as follows:
- There are resin bonded pads for wet polishing on granite and marble surfaces for top finishing, and also serves for polishing of concrete countertops.
- There are diamond polishing pads for dry polishing and these are used for finishing marble and granite surfaces on job sites. These are also used in resurfacing countertop and floors of concrete.
- Polishing pads for engineered stones are also available.
- There are electroplated polishing pads which can scrape off stuck items or materials on concrete.
- For corner resurfacing, triangular diamond polishing pads are also available.
- Curved areas are resurfaced using convex polishing pads.
Color Codes for Diamond Polishing Pads
Diamond polishing pads come in different colors. And you must know which color fits what purpose because the pads are colored to signal their make, strength and purpose. The lighter the polishing pad color, the softer it’s application would be and vice versa.
White, off-white and beige colored diamond polishing pads are meant for soft scrubbing and polishing. They can be used for cleaning and a light buffing. These are used generally at high speeds as they are not aggressive and won’t stain or corrode the surface.
Next comes the blue and green colored diamond polishing pads. These are good for rough polishing and are good for medium to slight hard impact. When the blue and green pads are used the speed is kept slow.
Even harder come the impact from the red polishing pads. These are too hard to even stain the floor and they are run at an even slower speed. Moreover, running the red pads at any higher speed can make them expel a red dye to stain the floor or surface badly.
With a right run from the right kind of diamond polishing pad, any material surface can be made clean, fresh, stainless, dirt free. Moreover, wax, paints and other coats can be stripped and cleaned off any surface.
There is another polishing pad variety which comes usually in dark brown or black in color and is the most aggressive and coarsest.
Pads Based on Grit
The grit size on a diamond polishing pad suggests the quality and strength of the pad. The grit size normally ranges from 50 to 3000. The coarser pads which are for high strength scrubbing have a lower grit. The higher the value, the impact of the pad gets softer. For finer polishing and smooth touches, highest grit pads are the best.
For removal of small particles, chips, scratches etc polishing pads with a grit size of 50 can be tried. But when the chips or scratches are removed by polishing then a higher grit pad with about 200 grit size can be chosen to resurface the surface further. When the surface is smooth enough a very high grit polishing pad that is great for smoothening and making the surface shiny can be used as required. A diamond polishing pad with the highest grit can give a mirror-like finish to the surface.
Finally
Polishing pads are the lifeblood of a fabrication business. Thus, choosing the right diamond polishing pad is the key to a good polishing and resurfacing work. Hence if you are working for perfection you have to be careful, and develop a sound understanding of which pad type, grit size and color you are using to deliver the finest finish to the surface.