Aluminum cleaner for vintage coffeepot?

[Orchidflower]

I found a 1920-30 coffeepot that my grandmother gave my mother in her basement--and it works great with the original cord and all! But, although it has no dents, it has the usual scratches that aluminum gets. The pot sells somewhere between $30-35 as there was one on ebay and one being sold thru an antique dealer, so I don't want to put alot of money into this project. Does anyone have any experience buffing aluminum to take the scratches out? Is there some chemical I can hand clean this pot with that will do the job? Any suggestions?

 

[UncleHoney]

Get a can of "Brasso Metal Polish" from the hardware store and have at it. Use a soft cloth like a diaper and wear some gloves cause your hands will turn black. If the aluminum had a nice polish when it was new it should restore nicely, just takes some elbow grease.

Very deep scratches can be removed with 600 grit wet or dry sand paper and then polished with the Brasso. Don't use anything coarser than 600 grit because it will take forever to to get a good polish.

 

[Goonie]

Is there some chemical I can hand clean this pot with that will do the job? Any suggestions?

You can buy aluminum cleaner at automotive stores.....it's used on aluminum wheels and stuff like that. When I was still employed we used to use it on the fresh water tanks of our sewer sucker, and some of my lab equipment......it made 'em nice and shiny!

 

[Orchidflower]

Thank you....you can tell I've never done this before, and will take both of your suggestions. Again, thanks!