Q. What is the difference between a buffing wheel and a polishing wheel?

Answer

The most glaring difference among buffing and polishing is that in the first a free grit is utilized on the wheel while in the latter the abrasive is secured to the wheel. As a result the polishing wheel is impervious to the abrasive grit. Different grits of abrasive are used for buffing vs polishing which is one of the main differences between the two procedures. There are always exceptions to any rule but in general buffing is performed with a low- or medium-grit abrasion while polishing is accomplished with a rising one. As a result the polishing wheel does not collect the abrasive grit that is employed in the procedure. That is to say the abrasive grit used in the polishing process does not adhere to the wheel.