Re: Working with my new (to me) machine
Your machine is too slow to be ideal. Torque is not a particularly good thing here. It can even be dangerous to your work. What you want is the right speed and enough torque so that when you need to bear down on it with emery it doesn't slow way down.
A 3450 rpm machine with a 6 or 8 inch wheel is a good combination. If your machine is driven by an external motor and a V-belt you can double the diameter of the motor pulley and achieve this.
What mpierich said is an excellent take on the cut and color question. He knows his polishing.
Mostly the main mistake that inexperienced polishers make is that they don't completely polish/sand out the scratches left by the previous process before moving up to a finer grit. The result is they just get shiny scratches.
There is no teacher like practice. Get yourself a car wheel and practice on it. Start sanding and polishing. You can't hurt it.
Richard
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