Finish Polishing. Grit steps with Brownell compounds.

I've polished a bit of steel over the years but this is my first start to finish pistol bluing project.

I have a Mid eighties BHP with no rust pitting and not too banged up.

My question is on grit-to-grit stepping.

For this job I've bought some new supplies that will be dedicated to pistol work.

Two one inch wide loose wheels.
Polish-o-ray 500 and
555 white compound all from brownell.

My plan forward is to go from bead blast to 500 then 555 white.

I'm wondering if I should add another wheel and another grit perhaps 240 before I move to 500 from the bead blast.

This is all prep for nitre bluing.

Most of the BE pistols i've seen that come from reputable guys look good so I thought I'd get some good info here.
Feel free to chime in with your experienced opinions.

Thanks guys.

Rob.

No wheels. Your gun will look melted. Wet sand with oil on a marble slab on the flats.

Absolutely no wheels, always sand with a block. Rolling over sharp edges is the quickest way to an ugly job. Preserving roll marks will likely take careful hand work.

My experience was 320/400 was about a factory finish, higher grits gets towards gloss.

For a Colt “factory look. Bead blast the pistol, then polish the flats of the slide and frame using the block and paper method.  You’ll have to remove all of the parts on tne frame ejector, plunger tube grip bushings, etc.  

Polish with wet-Dry paper starting at 320 then go up from there.  I ended with crocus, but today I’d go up to 1000 or 1500 which you can get from auto body supply stores.  When you gauge your work, hold a ruler to the surface to see how sharp the refection is at depth.