Just to clarify. You wet sand and between changing to lighter grits you use the MM pads. Do you use all 9 pads between the grit change? Forgive my ignorance.
Well, this is how I do it.
After turning, dry sand if necessary (as you get better with the skew, there will be less and less need to). Again, sand laterally with the lathe off after sanding with the lathe on before going to the next grit (ALWAYS make sure there are no radial scratches left--they WILL show). Also, make sure to get off the sanding dust between grits. I end at 600 grit.
After dry sanding, start wet sanding with the MM pads. Sand with the lathe on low speed, then turn the lathe off and sand laterally. Wipe the sanding residue off with a paper towel, then repeat with the next grit pad, and so on.
As an optional step after the 12,000 grit pad, you can spin the lathe up to full speed and use a plastic polish to put a final shine on the blank. Even better is a buffing system, but that is purely an option.
I really like to turn acrylic as there is no finishing necessary--just the above steps.
