POLISHING ALUMINUM
	First off, aluminum is a very soft metal so it scratches easily. Polished aluminum, SHOWS the scratches extremely well, which is probably not what you want, but that's a fact of life.
	Aluminum can be chromium plated but with varying degrees of success due to the process involved. We choose not to chromium plate aluminum parts, so we are left with As Machined ("AM") or Buffed to a Chrome-like polish ("BC")
	We hand buff all "BC" items but after packaging in their plastic bags the state of the item as it arrives may well be dependent on how well it was transported by the carrier from us to you. We strive to pack all items to minimize scuff in transit and believe we do a very good job.
	OK, so you have ordered a "BC" item and it needs a spruce-up. While not intending to endorse any other company's products, we give all "BC" items a quick sploosh and polish using a piece of old tee-shirt and Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish, product number 05101. This cleans off all the scuff marks pronto, gives a brilliant shine and leaves a coating of some sort (the Mother's can doesn't say what) but it does seem to bead water so it may well be a silicone-based film.
	If you have purchased the AM (As Machined) optioned product and now want to buff it yourself, click here for some helpful tips on buffing aluminum.