Polishing pads for marble and granite kitchen counter tops put the final touches on your slabs during installation. They are small discs, typically 3″ to 5″ that attach to a backer pad on an angle grinder. Because stone is imperfect, you have to go through a process to get the finished product.
Polishing pads should be though of almost like sandpaper. They start at 50 grit and go all the way to 3000 grit. The 50 grit is very coarse. You start the process with these to grind down any rough areas and work your way up to the finer grits of 3000. The 3000 will typically be the last polishing pad you use for your application. Many fabricators will stop at 800 though and use a variety of other techniques to get the stone to a desirable state.
It is important to have high diamond content in your polishing pads for longevity. Also, the thicker the polishing pad, the greater the life. There are also a variety of backer pads to choose from. Aluminum backer pads have the greatest life but are obviously rigid and have no “give”. Semi rigid rubber backer pads are highly recommended. The bend and can be used around edges and corners. They don’t offer the product life of the aluminum backers but are more popular and more economical.
Overall, make sure you are getting a quality brand, like Diamond King Tools, and getting the correct specs.