What does a polisher do?
Polishers need skills in critical thinking, troubleshooting, equipment maintenance, and social perceptiveness. Generally, this career requires only a high school diploma or GED, though some polishers do hold bachelor's degrees. They polish and buff stainless steel parts for the purpose of removing spots, scratches, or other defects. They also cut and rake wheel belts and check for errors and deficiencies in machinery and equipment.
Polisher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real polisher resumes:
- Train and instruct other polishers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
- Gain experience with CNC machines.
- Operate CNC grinders and milling machines.
- Polish custom glass, run polishing machine.
- Polish granite counter tops also run a pro edge machine.
- Metal finishing, copper buffer, in a high end custom chrome shop ..
- Measure parts using calipers and mics according to blue prints, and running of lathe.
- Restore hard chrome drilling items to their original tolerances by running different size belts on certain items.
- Prepare aluminum parts for electro anodize processes.also maintain tank solutions.
- Train and instruct other polishers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
- Measure thickness of uppers, using dial micrometer.
- Measure workpieces and lay out work, using precision measuring devices.
- Transfer equipment, objects, or parts to specify work areas, using moving devices.
- Inspect or measure finish workpieces to determine conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as gauges or micrometers.
Polisher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 31% of Polishers are proficient in Hand Tools, Calipers, and Polishers. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Dexterity, and Mechanical skills.
We break down the percentage of Polishers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hand Tools, 31%
Polished a variety of wheels/rims; experienced in using various power hand tools; general maintenance site support after work hours.
- Calipers, 11%
Worked with optical comparators, micrometers, and calipers.
- Polishers, 6%
Started as an apprentice and have now been given additional responsibilities and training entry level polishers.
- CNC, 6%
Operate CNC Mills for regular production when required.
- PPE, 5%
Make sure to have on all required PPE.
- Machine Operation, 5%
Set and adjust machine controls according to company product specifications and using knowledge of machine operations.
"hand tools," "calipers," and "polishers" are among the most common skills that polishers use at work. You can find even more polisher responsibilities below, including:
Computer skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a polisher to have is computer skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "metal and plastic machine workers must be able to use programmable devices, computers, and robots on the factory floor." Polishers often use computer skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "utilized both mechanical and computer engraving equipment. "
Mechanical skills. This is an important skill for polishers to perform their duties. For an example of how polisher responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "these workers must be comfortable with machines and have a good understanding of how all the parts work." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a polisher: "repaired defective or inoperable mechanical equipment.light welding demonstrated accuracy of use with mics and calipers for measurements. ".
The three companies that hire the most polishers are:
- LC Staffing
12 polishers jobs
- Parker Hannifin6 polishers jobs
- Express Employment Indy South6 polishers jobs
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Compare different polishers
Polisher vs. Centerless grinder operator
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a polisher are more likely to require skills like "polishers," "cnc," "ppe," and "quality standards." On the other hand, a job as a centerless grinder operator requires skills like "grinders," "grinding machines," "spc," and "grinding wheels." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, centerless grinder operators reach similar levels of education than polishers. Centerless grinder operators are 3.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Polisher vs. Centerless grinder
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that polisher responsibilities requires skills like "hand tools," "polishers," "cnc," and "ppe." But a centerless grinder might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "grinding wheels," "grinding machines," "grinders," and "micrometers."
In general, centerless grinders achieve similar levels of education than polishers. They're 1.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Polisher vs. Universal grinder operator
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a polisher is likely to be skilled in "hand tools," "calipers," "polishers," and "cnc," while a typical universal grinder operator is skilled in "grinders," "compactor," "gannon," and "water truck."
Most universal grinder operators achieve a higher degree level compared to polishers. For example, they're 5.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Polisher vs. Grinder set up operator
Types of polisher
Updated January 8, 2025
