[mpierich]

Nine times out of 10, it means you didn't work on a previous step long enough, and sometimes it's hard to tell which step it was. This is extremely frustrating when it means you have to start over, but that's the way it is.

You don't say what all your steps were, but I usually only go to 320 or 400, then emery then white...but even taking it to 600, I would still hit it with emery for the first polishing. I don't like tripoli (brown) except for freshening up a previously polished item.

The blue probably won't touch it...I hardly ever use it for anything other than plastic. White is generally more than enough. Don't forget, the wheel has as much to do with results as the compound, maybe more sometimes. Might try a flannel wheel and a light touch for finishing up.