Polishing Disc or Grinding Disc (roughing)?

A common question our customers ask is whether it’s better to use a polishing disc or a grinding disc for repairing or improving ceramic pieces.

If you’re undecided and only want to choose one type of disc, we’d recommend going with a grinding disc (roughting) for most uses, as it’s more versatile overall.

A polishing disc will give you a smoother surface and a higher-quality finish, but it doesn’t remove as much clay with each pass. For that reason, if you’ve never used our diamond discs before, you might feel that the polishing disc doesn’t remove material quickly enough to fix an imperfection in a short amount of time (a fairly common observation from first-time users). 

Many ceramicists actually own both types of discs. They use the grinding disc to remove imperfections first, and then switch to the polishing disc to achieve a cleaner, more refined finish.

If your ceramic piece “wobbles,” it’s often easier to correct it with the grinding disc for roughing.

A good starting point is to purchase the grinding disc first, and later on, if it fits your needs, you can add the polishing disc to your toolkit.

Don’t forget to use water, as it extends the tool’s lifespan and helps ensure more controlled, gentle sanding.

Thank you for reading, and please feel free to reach out with any questions!