An investigation is reported on rounding and lobe formation during external cylindrical superfinishing. A model was developed to simulate the instantaneous stock removal and the resulting workpiece profile in terms of the kinematics of the superfinishing process. The simulation predicts a lobing phonomenon when operating at half ratios of axial stone oscillation frequency to workpiece rotational frequency when abrasive tracks during successive workpiece rotations are completely out-of-phase, and minimal removal when this frequency ratio is an integer value such that successive abrasive tracks are in-phase and do not intersect each other. The occurrence of lobes at half frequency ratios and reduced stock removal at whole frequency ratios were experimentally verified.