I have a set of 6" diameter muslin buffing wheels that I use for gun bluing prep work that are also very effective for polishing stainless. I stack up 1/2" thick wheels on the mandrel until they're about 2" wide. The trick is to have a separate wheel for each grit of polishing compound, as any leftover compound imbedded in the wheel will not allow a finer grit to work properly. I use 180, 220, 320. and 400 grit greaseless compound for matte finish jobs, and white grease based compound on a hard felt wheel if I want a mirror finish. The buffer I use also has a 4-step pulley setup for speed regulation and a 1/2 HP motor to drive it.
Jerry