David Weaver
i can share the part number of my favorite wheel, but I have probably over the years only tried 6 or so. No guarantee that a different type doesn't work better (more stitches to the edge, different material, etc).

Ryobi: A04BG06

there's differences in the number of plies, the number of stitches, where the stitches are, etc. No great reason to become an expert to save $10 (but I don't follow my own advice on that, i'll admit).

Those buff wheels show up unused from time to time, but I'm guessing based on the color of the packaging and the widespread availability of a different set of ryobi buffs that these are just old stock trickling out from oddball sellers (people who buy return lots, etc).

I see the sentiment is going toward finer here, but I'm inclined to stick with the yellow stuff because I'm used to it. The yellow stuff is 5 micron yellow jackson lea bar from mcmaster carr (calcined alumina). I think anything of reasonable quality will work well. I have no idea how many factors could affect my results (e.g., winston's bevels look a bit shorter and steeper - is that affected by the compound cutting power and the buff speed, both, etc?).

Sharpness is absurd even with yellow, and a complete result is almost guaranteed because the buffer doesn't just finish the edge that's there, it removes some of it and replaces the front side.

https://www.mcmaster.com/buffing-bars (listed as yellow in the top section under "cutting/coloring" category)

Will report back if experience with other bars is better, though. I think with a high speed buff and a wheel with a little bit of back bone, much of the compounds should be interchangeable.