Bead blasting the wheels is fine, but you'll still need to sand to get all the little nicks and scratches out. Bead blasting will not leave you a nice smooth finish for polishing. You'll still need to sand the piece before it ever hits the buffer.
I'd opt for a flex shaft attached to your buffer for the majority of the work. Hit it with greaseless compounds up to 400 grit, then wet sand by hand until you get a uniform finish and all visible scratches are gone.
Once it's sanded, wash it off completely. Any sanding grit left over will embed itself in the buff and scratch the hell out of the piece.
I've stopped using sisal wheels with emory (black) compound on aluminum. I now use a treated, vented buff with tripoli (brown) to start, followed by a tight spiral buff with green, then finish with a flannel or loose cotton wheel and white rouge. The sanding is the key. The better the prep, the easier it will be to buff and get that "bling bling" look you're after. Since stopping with the sisal/emory compound, my buffing time has been reduced and my results have improved dramatically. My sanding times have almost doubled, but it's worth it with the results I'm getting.
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