The leap from metal bond pads to resins is where most polished concrete jobs fall apart. If you move up too soon, resin pads won’t erase the deeper scratches — and they’ll reflect straight through to your final finish. If you overcut, you waste time, tooling, and risk damaging the slab. This guide walks through the ideal process for transitioning from metal to resin pads cleanly, efficiently, and correctly — no haze, no ghosting, no swirl marks.
Whether you finish metals at 50, 70, or 100 grit, make sure the scratch pattern is even and the surface is flattened. No visible swirl marks, skip lines, or patchy areas. If your metal scratch pattern is inconsistent, your resins will polish some areas while skipping others — creating gloss variation and shadowing. Don’t rush this stage.
Vacuum thoroughly, then inspect using a low-angle light or flashlight across the surface. Look for deep grooves, swirl patterns, or uneven scratch depth. If you can feel a scratch with your fingernail, it’s too deep to move to resin. Touch up trouble spots using hand tools or repeat a pass with your last metal grit.
Some installers use hybrid pads — a blend of metal and resin — to bridge the gap. These are especially helpful if jumping from 50 to 100 resin, or working on a softer slab where metals cut deep. Use hybrids at 100 or 120 grit and do one full crosshatch pass. They reduce loading and help ease into flexible resin tooling without gouging or bounce.
Resin pads are not designed to cut like metals. Starting at 100 or 200 grit ensures they’re refining, not grinding. Going lower wears the pad quickly and can burn or load. Match your starting resin grit to your final metal grit: if you finished with 100 metal, go to 100 resin; if 50 metal, use a hybrid or transition before 100 resin.
First resin passes should ideally be done wet — this helps cool the pads, reduce friction, and show the actual refinement path. Use only enough water to float the pad and monitor slurry. If running dry, use strong vacuum extraction to avoid glazing or dust loading. Dry resin grinding requires more pressure control and edge watch.
Between each resin stage (100 > 200 > 400 > 800+), inspect the surface. A smooth matte finish at 200 means you’re ready for refinement. Any haze, halos, or directional marks mean your previous pass didn’t fully remove the last grit’s scratches. Don’t jump grits until each one does its job. It's a system — not a race.
Always match your edge tooling to your resin sequence. If your machine is on 200 grit, don’t leave edges at 50 or 100. Use flexible resins or edge polishing pads to bring the perimeter up evenly. Any mismatch in scratch depth between the field and the edge is highly visible — especially under gloss or in directional lighting.
Resins wear down fast on poorly transitioned slabs. If your pads stop cutting, feel slick, or burnish without refining — they’re done. Keep backups and rotate pads between heads regularly. Poor transition work kills resin pads fast. Good transition work lets you polish cleaner, cheaper, and with fewer headaches.
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