Re: Cleaning Aluminum
There is no magic wand, if you want it to look nice you are gonna have to grease your elbows and get down to it.
Most of the spray on, wash off aluminum cleaners I have seen leave a streaky finish because the metal isn't oxidized the same every where.
I have seen polished boats and the look really cool as soon as you finish them, not so much after they are used, shiny polished aliminum takes alot of work to maintain so if you don't want to put in the time to keep it up I would go with a matte finish, better yet use the Scotch Brite and Cats formula.
Get some Scotch Brite super fine pads and plain water and start buffing in a straigh line front to back, this will grain the aluminum and make it look really nice and it last longer than a polish.
If you want to do it once get some Shark Hide protectant.