...I would always put the axle in my cordless drill and then spin it in fine sandpaper to take out the imperfections and finish with 0000 steel wool. Would polish up that sucker really nice. Then I'd put the wheel on the axle, add some polish (to begin, and then graphite after I'd polished it some), and again put the axle on the cordless. Then I'd spin that axle while holding the wheel in place with my other hand. The axles were usually smooth and polished good enough when I was done to keep my kid in the competition regardless of whatever else we did or didn't do.