Alloy polishing guide

If you can get hold of some polishing mops and compound pastes to use with a dremel/drill, that would be ideal.

Otherwise use some wire wool to get it a bit finer, then cover the whole thing in brasso/autosol and rub it in slowly till the aluminium starts to react/dissolve (it will turn dark grey) once you have it all like this get a rough rag (like a tea towel) and polish like crazy (shoe shine style)

It should then look fairly shiny, but finish it off with a soft cloth/sock/buffer which will clean of the last of the polish.

Remember youll have to do this every so often as the alloy will form a whitish oxide (go dull)
dont use a dremel -.- its bad enough for cranks! i immediatly switched to a power drill :) but yeh polishing mops and compounds are a good DIY way to go - it is alot of work though and if you want a dull finish i think a primary compound might be ok, you might need a secondary though if its a bit to scratched looking.

polish then bead blast sounds good though - +1 to the comment about doing this if you have the cash - will save you a lot of time and hastle!