I`m kind of a closet polishing freak. I have or still do polish many things made of aluminum or stainless. I polish quite a few Smith & Wesson & Ruger stainless revolvers to this day. Kind of a poor mans chrome. This said, don`t do this if there is intrinsic value in a firearm. You`ll ruin the value. Most stainless firearms aren`t old enough to be extremely rare, so by word of mouth I have a fair number of these come my way.

Back in the day when building Hot Rods, Muscle and Ponies we polished just about anything made of aluminum on an engine. Thermostat housings, manifolds, alternators, timing chain covers, valve covers and the list goes on. By the way alternators are extremely labor intensive. If you have the time keeping these things shiney isn`t a big deal, just regular maintenance. These cars weren`t daily drivers. The alternators were tough to stay on top of. Too many fins and tight spots. We used a high heat clear paint to cover these. The paint would stick fairly well. It goes without saying that once you remove the pebble of the aluminum there isn`t a lot for the paint to stick to. A few light coats and then drying in a heat cabinet did make these more durable. We used a tool box with a 300 watt bulb.

Larger more "open or accessible" items weren`t worth putting clear on. Alternators were a different story.