buff out

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buff out (third-person singular simple present buffs out, present participle buffing out, simple past and past participle buffed out)

1. (transitive) To remove paint or light scratches from the surface by friction, wearing it out by polishing or blasting with sand or by employing some similar method.
   • 1992, Diana Fairechild, Jet Smart:

     Other carriers buff out their fuselages instead of painting them, reasoning that cracks can hide under layers of thick exterior paint.

   • 2005, Collector Car Restoration Bible: Practical Techniques For Professional Results, page 357:

     But I think that it is an act of barbarism to color sand and buff out acrylic enamels in restoration work.

   • 2010, How to Make Your Car Last Forever: Avoid Expensive Repairs, Improve Fuel Economy, Understand Your Warranty, Save Money, page 131:

     Sammy, There are products on the market designed to buff out scratches in glass, not a wax but a rubbing compound much like jeweler's rouge, a fine jewelry-buffing compound.

   • 2012, The North Bay Nugget, Filmmaker hits streets for latest project:

     “Ford's war on graffiti, which no artist really acknowledged, has done the exact opposite of what he wanted it to do,” Chirico says. “He wanted to eradicate graffiti, but if you keep buffing out walls, artists consider it a blank canvass.”

2. (transitive, idiomatic) To bring something to proper shape by removing or masking minor defects, by straightening out the residual shortcomings.
   • 1914, Fra Magazine, volume Fra Magazine: A Journal of Affirmation, January 1914 to June 1914, page 178:

     Nevertheless, if a man has the salesman's qualifications, a little scientific study of salesmanship will sandpaper him, buff out his inequalities and make him a better man.

   • 1983, Marie Brenner, Intimate distance:

     Like everybody I've met, he spoke exquisite English, right down to the American syntax, as if he wanted to buff out his German cultural ties. That's common too.

   • 2012, Bleacher Report, Rafael Nadal: Early Exit at Gerry Weber Means Nothing Heading into Wimbledon:

     So, the momentum alone has been built up quite well for Wimbledon and Nadal still has roughly one week to buff out the rough spots on grass.

• sandpaper
• sandblast
• depaint
• burnish
• polish off
• sand down