How to shine up the bumpers?

[AZVET]

I was preparing my 88 for the big Route 66 cruise tomorrow.  I never really liked how the front and rear bumpers shine.

There are big old water spots that don't seem to come out.  I used Mother's chrome/aluminum polish and buffed it out with an electric buffer but they still did not look good.  I  tried some Barkeeper's Friend ultra fine scouring powder that my wife uses on our stainless steel sink.

That looked better but still not the greatest.  I finished up with some Mequiar'a liquid cleaner wax which did a pretty good job but still not perfect.

Any advice?

[waltmail]

Not an easy job. They are aluminum and anodized. Best way is to power sand the anodization off exposing the base metal. I use 800 grit on an orbital sander. The next step is to polish the exposed metal. Technique is important. Do not use random swirl pattern when sanding. Power buffer with rouge doing small concentrated areas will bring out the lustre. I clear coat the finished product.