I agree with what damascus has posted and will add my own findings as well.
I polish to 600grit if I want a gloss finish, wire wheel with a worn fine wheel and oil when at 320 grit or so to show any oddities, then proceed through to the finer grits.Using a good backer is required at all times to your edges remain crisp. I degrease first with chlorinated break cleaner(nasty nasty stuff) then using acetone. I wear cotton gloves throughout the rusting and carding process. I use commercial rust blue solutions, but have played with Angier long ago and may again. We use one of his solutions when browning.
The level of gloss VS matte finish is controlled by the following factors. Degree of polish, strength of acid solution, length of time exposed to acid on each application, Ambient temperature and humidity. The metal composition is a factor as well, but is not one you can control.
If I want a high gloss finish I take care to keep my rusting cycles very short. Usually under 2 hours the first cycle then much reduced, 30 minutes or so, further reducing as I go to every 15 minutes or so. I count the time from when the acid is applied and it is always applied to cool barrels. I card with 0000 steel wool that comes de-greased when I buy it. This method takes lots of passes. I would say on average at least 12-15, if not more. It also seems to work best on older steels with lower nickel and chromium content. I find some of the more modern steels require a more aggressive approach to get a deep color.
Just ways of doing things. As always, your mileage may vary.
Steve
