Polishing absolute black

[John04]

I haven't worked with absolute black until this week and I'm having issues polishing. We are using a park pro edge with the terminator 5 step system. However I think I'm going to try touching up by hand any suggestions? We are getting a pretty good fog line down the center of a 3/8 bull edge

[stonewaco]

need to run an extra step after you run the metals. We add a cycle that just goes up to 90 and runs the flat edge with a 200 grit about 6 or 8 passes at 45 ipm and 60 pressure. We us a toro flat polish polishing pad. then we run the regular fast pads on the rest of the edge like normal. This will fix the problem. remember to reset flags between the extra cycle and fast pads too.

Hope this makes sense

[adam t]

I would like to add two things:
1. As a general rule if you have clouding but good shine, something was missed in the lower grits. If you have good color but not enough shine, something was missed at the high grits. Again, general rule.
2. Many if not most blacks are color enhanced from charcoal or chocolate to black and need to be dyed to match the top.

I would also tell you I have changed my opinion about waxes over the last couple of years. You hear about rings appearing on the surface of absolute caused by moisture. This can be prevented by using a topical sealer to create a barrier between the stone and water. Black wax may not be permanent but it works and you can include it into an ongoing maintenance program with your customer. It is also a color enhancer.
For what it's worth. I've done at least three repair jobs with this problem.

[Eddie Blanco]

Are you letting your pads "float"? Are they running at 100 fpm and at 35 psi? They should be "zinging" as they run back and forth.