Buffer
Also called screening machine
A single-disc rotary machine, typically 400–500 mm, fitted with fine screens around 100–150 grit — it removes microns, not wood.
It does two jobs: final screening before the first coat of finish, and intercoat abrasion between successive coats. Both exist to create a uniform microscopic scratch pattern so the next layer bonds properly.
It does not correct bad sanding. It only prepares a correctly sanded floor.
Related
Terms this one depends on
- Intercoat screeningLight abrasion with the buffer between finish coats, to create the scratch pattern the next coat bonds to.
- Planetary sanderA refining machine with three or more counter-rotating discs on a rotating head, producing a random multi-directional scratch pattern that blends field into edges.
- Belt floor sanderThe primary material-removal machine in a refinish: a continuous abrasive belt over a drum roughly 200 mm wide, handling around 80% of total removal.
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