The wadding polish I use is made by Eagle One and is called Nevr Dull Wadding Polish. It comes in a can and is loose cotton (similar to batting) with a polish in it. I would try it and see what the results are before stripping and replating. ALWAYS check the label on any product to see if it is compatible with what you are going to use it on FIRST. It is also important to know that the older Vintage machines were plated in Nickel, not chrome. Newer machines like some Clones and others were Chrome plated. Usually if it works on Nickel, it is good for chrome as well, and visa versa. And Miriam's question, What if the plating is coming off? It depends on how much is coming off. A flake here and there might not look bad enough to do anything about after polishing. If it is really bad, something else might need to be done. I have had great results with some products and it didn't need anything else, other times it needs to have something else done to it to get the results you want. I have a (shelved for now) project Singer 66 that was in really bad shape, so I had the handwheel and other parts chrome plated ($). But usually there is something you can do to compensate for that. I have gone to an auto parts store and read a lot of labels to see what they have to offer. A little homework can arm you with a wealth of choices. I always start with the one with the least chance of damaging the item first and work my way up from there if I don't get the results I am looking for. As far as toothpaste, I have not tried it on a machine myself. That is probably because I have too many other products I can use that were specifically made for what I am trying to do. I have used a lot of other products and tools that I can't in good conscience recommend to someone to use because they can quickly destroy things if you are not experienced with using them.
Well, that is my two cents worth.
~G~