I would NOT buff bare wood with a buffing wheel and tripoli/white diamond before applying Waterlox. I am sure some folks have done it, but tripoli will sometimes stain wood a red tint, and if the wood is open-pored like oak or zebrawood, you'll get the buffing compound in the grain more or less.
Personally if I was applying Waterlox (which is the finest oil-based polyurethane on the planet if you ask me) I would sand up to around 600 grit and NO MORE.
Someone here will tell me that I need to polish the wood to a glassy surface before applying the finish, but professional finish manufacturers will tell you that their finishes need something to bite into (especially Waterlox b/c it's a LOT higher in solids). Lots of people gloss-up their wood blanks before applying finishes and never have a problem with it. Others, like me, don't bother spending the time doing something that the Waterlox will do for me.
Here is what I'd be a lot more inclined to do, and I assume you are shooting for a gloss finish.
1) Sand to 600, finish your sanding by sanding along the grain to remove the scratch rings from lathe sanding. If you want to sand higher, go for it.
2) Apply the Waterlox however you want--- I'd spray it with an airbrush or a small spray gun, personally. DO NOT put on heavy coats.
3) Allow to dry until it's sandably hard (you'll need to use your own judgement). This may mean overnight, I can't recall if Waterlox is fast drying.
4) "Buff" in this case means very gently "abrade" or "scuff" the finish with a very fine sandpaper (you can use 0000 steel wool) to give the next coat something to bond to, and also to smooth out any dust nibs in the finish.
5) Lay however many coats you want. Thicker is not always better--- thick finishes will chip a LOT easier than a thin finish.
Personally if you airbrush on Waterlox, you should be able to get a dreamy finish in 3-5 coats. You MAY need to thin the Waterlox a bit with mineral spirits to make it behave if doesn't flow out into a nice, slick coating.
For the high-gloss: if the final coat doesn't give you the gloss you want, let it cure for several days, preferably a week, and micromesh it (start around 4000, perhaps, and go all the way to 12,000, use water to wet sand). You can finish the final gloss with a scratch remover like Novus or something. I use 3M's Finesse-It II ($40 a quart
).
BTW this is a LOT of work for a finish! I'm much more inclined to use lacquer since it's a LOT faster drying. I can do everything in the above procedure in one day (except the micromesh gloss-buff) with the catalyzed lacquer. Just wear a mask!!!
