How to Buff a Powder Coat
Powder coating involves dry powder paint adhered to metal with electrostatic charge or compressed air. After coating, the powder coat cures in a hot oven. The curing process melts the paint, creating the smooth and flawless finish. Although buffing a powder coat finish is unusual, it's possible. With the proper approach, you can eliminate any flaws in the finish with a buffing compound.
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Things You'll Need
- 800-grit or finer sandpaper
- Compressed air
- Buffing compound
- Buffing wheel
Instructions
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Rub the powder coat surface with a super-fine sandpaper in straight lines. Keep the lines as straight and long as possible to reduce the incidence of scratches and residual lines in the remaining finish. Sand the entire surface of the object you want to buff.
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2
Clean the sanding dust and dirt away from the surface with compressed air before buffing to avoid adding any abrasives that may damage the finish. Don't wipe the surface clean with a rag, either damp or dry. A damp rag will create paste out of the dust, scratching the finish. A dry rag will simply push the dust around, scratching the finish.
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Apply a dime-sized amount of buffing compound to the buffing wheel. Position the wheel on the powder coat surface and turn it on. Buff in small areas, moving the buffing wheel quickly to avoid damaging the surface. Apply more compound in dime-sized amounts as necessary to ensure that your buffing wheel doesn't get dry.
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Tips & Warnings
Protect your powder coat finish by adding a high-gloss, clear powder coat to the finished product instead of trying to buff a shine finish.
Buffing a powder coat finish will polish the finish, but if you choose to refinish the product, you will have to strip the existing powder coat completely due to the buffing compound residue. This is a very expensive process.
