[dave in australia]

Start with 1200 by hand to get rid of the scratches, or maybe even larger, say a 800 or even 400. It depends on the size of the scratches. Don't try and use a too small grit early, you'll take to long. After 1200, then use a sisal wheel with carbrax compound, usually dark grey in colour. Change wheels for the final polish is with a stitch wheel, and use the chrome compound, which is green in colour. This is how we polished stainless in plating shop when I was an electroplater. There are other compounds and wheel, but we found this combination gave the best results. As others have said, don't push to hard, you'll create heat and warp what you're polishing. Let the compound do the work for you. When machine polishing, work from the centre down to an edge, and not from the edge in towards the centre. This way you'll never catch the edge and have it snatched from your hands.