I’m a knife maker and I’m having problems with (kind of) ‘orange peel’
when polishing nickel silver (and brass too, though rarely used).

The surface (mirror shine) is speckled with tiny pits, as if the material
has been torn away.

I don’t seem to have this problem when polishing e.g. stainless steel blades
or sterling silver.

For the most part, my knives are sanded (after rough grinding P40 – P120
& filing with smooth cut files) from P240 through each grit down to P2500.

I’ve tried both felt and sewed muslin wheels – 3" to 6" diameter.

The compounds I’m using are a white cut & color compound called
Ultrapol 76, and a high lustre compound called G 300 A. (both from
Schmidt’s Polermedel – from my research they seem to be quite appraised
and are also common among the Swedish knife making suppliers)

I’m using a lathe for the polishing, at 1500 RPM – I know this is quite slow,
especially for the smaller wheels (but smaller wheels give me more precision
and better viewing angle).

The lathe is capable of 3000 RPM, but that’s not a comfortable speed
(heavy vibrations) – and with a 12" wheel I can’t see what I’m doing (the
angle is quite flat, and I’d like to refrain from polishing my forehead )

Could the low RPM/SFM be the problem, or what am I doing wrong?

I’d be very grateful for any thoughts on this problem,

Magnus Ekblad (Sweden)