From the pic it seems your coin panel has some embedded rust. Polishing in my view will not resolve the rust. In those instances I use some wet & dry abrasive paper as light as will remove the rust without unduly scratching the surface , then apply rust remover then start the sealing & polishing process. On smaller parts after dealing with removal of grime & rust of course a tumbler is the go. I am about to buy a sand blasting cabinet to get over this damn rust removal!!

Yea, a black wheel isn't a problem...just use a rake when the wheel becomes stiff from grud and use. Using the right compound helps a bunch, found Sears Red #6 (green compound) works great for me.

I have that same model HF buffer and it works like a champ. A few answers for you:
1 - You HAVE to use compound on the wheel for it to do anything. Simple using the wheel with no compound does nothing for you. I use either black or red compound on the tightly woven wheel to first polish. it does have a learning curve, but once you get used to it, it works very well.

Once you polish the item with the right wheel, wipe off the excess compound with a towel, apply green (or whatever you want) compound to the left (loose woven) wheel and then buff. With a little practice, the results really can be staggering. Look at my results here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/my-first-playfield-swap-it-begins

I get the compounds from HF as well. They come in a little plastic tube. I use the black for polish and the green for buff.

2 - Black wheel doesn't matter at all. The wheel WILL get black. What you should do before you use it each time is to make sure the compound in the wheel has not hardened. You can use a rake like this - http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Brothers-AA-RAKE-ASSEMBLY-Handle-Filler/dp/B00R6IEDFW/ref=sr_1_3

But I just use the end of a putty knife and it works like a champ. Just hit the wheel with it for a few seconds before you start buffing.

3 - The metal interacting with the polish is what causes the black residue. You will never NOT have the residue. Again, it's not dirt causing it - it is the interaction of the metal and polish. So you don't have to polish until you don't get any more black, just until the part has the finish you want.

Check out Eastwood. Automotive stuff, but very high quality. Many options, including affordable ones for our needs.

Eastwood is definitely good stuff. Used quite a bit of it. Especially when I was restoring my 66 Toronado. My personal advice, however, use the cheap, readily available HF stuff and get used to working with it. Works very good, is cheap, and you don't have to have it shipped.

For the door and the coin plate...the chrome layer is gone...you are not going to improve those at all. Either paint, powder coat, or buy new. Re-chrome...not worth it

I used the HF buffing wheels for my first polishing attempts and found them only adequate for a short time. the inner ring of the buffing wheel needs to be something hard or the wheel stretches out over time and becomes ineffective. The next wheels I buy will be of a higher quality. I was going for a mirror finish and got that on about the first 4 guides and then after that I just couldn't get he rest buffed out nicely.

I've been using products from Caswell Plating for years. First for powdercoat then for polishing supplies. I used to build engines and had a bunch of "chromeboys" locked in a battle to out shine each other... I spent a lot of time polishing bolts, cylinder heads, everything you can think of.

Recently bought a combo kit (different sizes available depending on buffer size and HP rating) with several wheels, compounds, and a rake. It comes with a polishing guide to walk you through the process and get you started.

The shooter rod handle -should- be solid aluminum, so some sanding to get past the pitting and then polishing to shine it -should- work. Do you have a similar one to practice on? That would be the best bet, just like soldering, practice on something disposable to hone your skills.

The shooter surrounds are chrome plated, so you can remove the plating if you go to far. Living with minor pitting or replacement are the only easily attainable options. You can strip the platings, polish, and get it replated, but it'll be very time consuming and expensive.

Same for the coin door. I believe they are chromed as well. Any rust coming through means the plating is comprised in that area. You can steel wool it to remove the rust then polish it over to reshine the are, but the rust will come back

There is brown cutting tripoli.

This cuts layers fast off an object, and can take off chrome plating.

Each time you use a different compound, you should change buffing wheels.

A stitched buffing wheel with a stitched leather core is best.

Please guys, avoid red rouge, unless packaging states something has changed.
Or wear a mask.....it has been found to cause health issues.
Green, Green Zam, and others will perform better, clean up easier, less greasy......

Been polishing metal for 44 years......

A couple of points -
1 - If what you want is shiny, you can get that fairly easily with the buffing wheels. If what you want is smooth, shiny, with no imperfections, and looking like new - you can get that too - you just will likely not get that using compounds on your buffing wheels alone. Note that I did not say that it was impossible - just unlikely. It requires more steps.

Buffing only enhances what is already there.

Most of the pieces that you have - have some kind of blemishes due to corrosion, weather, age, etc. They can be polished, but you will still see all of the issues and polishing them will not necessarily remove them. You should remove those imperfections first. Things that can help you do that are steel wool, various grits of sandpaper, etc. THEN you buff the resulting piece to a mirror shine.

2 - Most of the items you have shown were originally plated or protected in someway. So you are correct- you do have to worry about taking the original finish off with buffing, sanding, etc. That said - those methods are more often than not the ONLY way - short of completely replating the items - to get them looking good again. In addition, many of these pieces are actually made of stainless or aluminum so you can actually remove that original finish by sanding, and then buffing them to a mirror shine, and then just clearing them with a rattle can to protect them.

I will PM you my number in case you want to discuss. Again, these are just my thoughts.

+1

I use the green and find it works awesome.