Re-polish stainless??

[GANDER]

I have a HOWA action custom rifle I picked up that was well worth the money. I noticed a small nick in the black coating on the floor plate. I picked it with my fingernail and another chip came up. Upon further scratching of the floor plate. It appears for whatever reason they painted the stainless trigger gaurd and floor plate gloss black. I have now removed all the black paint and it appears as if they tried to rough up the stainless with sandpaper before they painted it. Obviously their light sanding wasn't enough to make the paint stick. Nothing terrible to handle.
So my question is... I can get the majority of the deeper scratches out with emory cloth but how do I get it back to having that nice polished look? My other thought is having my buddy beadblast the stainless. Opinions or "plans of attack" on this problem welcome!! 

[Luckyducker]

Without seeing the piece it is hard to know what you are dealing with, but if you want a satin finish look you could probably get it with 0000 steel wool and some elbow grease.  If you want a high gloss look you will probably need a buffing wheel and jewelers rouge.  I wonder though if the action was painted or teflon coated?  It doesn't matter at this point, but I've got a custom FN mauser that I had teflon coated matt black and have to be careful cause the teflon, though durable, will chip.

[StrawHat]

How glossy do you want it.

Crocus cloth will do it.

As will a gag and polishing compound.

The felt or cloth wheel will leave ripples unless you are careful.

Good luck and post photos when done.

[SDS-GEN]

Jeweler's rouge (also called red rouge) is made of iron oxide and wax, you will polish forever to get a bright finish on steel.  Try Fabulustre and a cotton buff.  First sand down to at least 600 grit with emery paper and oil.  Before polishing with Fabulustre it will be beneficial to polish with a more aggressive buffing compound like Platinum Tripoli.  Make sure ALL grit is removed before polishing.  If Platinum Tripoli is used make sure ALL of it is removed before going on to a NEW cotton buff with Fabulustre.  Any cross contamination of grit or polish will compromise your finish.  Using this method you can get a mirror finish on stainless.