[sjhark]

Thanks, Kevin. I was suspicious that I may be using the wrong size wheels for my buffing motor. Mine is a Harbor Freight model. I buy my wheels from Eastwood, mostly. They seem to hold together better than most of the others I've been able to find; I'll check out Tar Heel. I already use 3M paper, so I'll just have to use finer grit.
Thanks again, everyone who contributed to this thread. I'll get some finer paper this weekend and give a report when I have time to try it all out.