What are these?

How big? Plastic? Steel?

What kind of buffer ? If like the ones that are similar to small grinding wheels or maybe a hand held one for cars, they are buffing compound or rouge. You put that on the pads and it turnes them into a very fine sandpaper. I do mean very fine, more of a polishing type.

There are different grades of them.

Could I use them to polish out old plastic headlight lenses?

Andy

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Buffing and polishing. See

The Black is emery, pretty coarse.

White is polishing, very fine cutting action..sometimes called "blizzard" compound.

The red is jewleler's rouge, a polishing-only compound -- virtually no actual cutting action. Never put any other compound on a wheel used for rouge...

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Thanks for the great info.

I used the red rouge on my slightly faded headlight.

It definitely made an improvement.

I followed by a coat of Nano wax.

Andy

Follow with bug spray and new york times page

I thought it said butter. This makes more sense.

You put that on the pads and it turnes them into a

For "loading" your buffer wheel - they are abrasives - or "Rouge" - or "buffing compound"

I'd call them rouge sticks but black rouge just ain't right...

You can get a paste like compound that is much more suitable for that task. Much less risk of damage to the headlight lens as well. They are in headlight cleaning kits like these;

When I was an apprentice, we used to use beeswax on the buffing wheel. It brought a beautiful finish to alloy parts.