HOW THE HECK do you get water spots out of your polished peices? MY p/s bracket and belt tensioner are polished and every time it rains or i wash the car they get water spots on them (my new welds also do this). I've tried mothers mag and alluminum polish as well as some other new polish for alluminum and it just doesn't take out the water marks.
I've even tried hitting them with white rouge again to no avail.
Um, did you ever figure out your problem? I never saw this until now.
I'll answer anyway for future reference for others who find this in search or whatever:
The lines in the metal are scratch marks from sanding, you'd need to use a lesser grit than the compounds to get them out, and continue like that until you get them all out. You'd also want to use a different wheel per compound as the rougher grit will overpower the lesser and you won't get the results from the lesser grit. It's black from the actual compound being worked into the metal.
Try a 6" or 8" buffing wheel. I've found they work much better than a 4" on large, flat surfaces like the PS bracket. Smaller ones are great for nooks and crannies, small edging, etc. I personally never had great luck with them on larger, flat surfaces like the one in question, but that's not to say it won't work.
Also, white rouge should do the trick instead of jeweler's rouge. It's white and more abrasive than jeweler's, which is so 'light' that it won't really do much on aluminum. They use it for gold, platinum, etc. which is a lot softer.
Thanks for all the good info Dave. You certainly know your stuff and your car shows it ........ Now, do you think you can teach my wife how to do it for me?