I'm going to use crocus cloth to polish the journals, it's a very fine soft abrasive cloth that is comparable to 1500-2000 grit...

It's an old product, it's similar to emery cloth but instead of abrasive grit that is glued to a cloth backing, it's a loose iron oxide abrasive embedded into the cloth. It's perfect for a fine polish on metal surfaces, and very difficult to find now.

The good news is that I found a 60ft roll of it for less than $20 on the McMaster-Carr website.