On bells & polish, Matt:
Dan votes for Blue Magic metal, and I wouldn't challenge that. Here's a few things that I've found useful in restoring old motorcycles, which tend to beheavy on the alloy and largely devoid of plastic, bless 'em:
> Autosol is the standard British product, works well. Blue, comes in a tube, the consistency of lite toothpaste (of which, more later)
> Flitz is a comparable German product; pink, similar consistency to Autosol
Have found both of the above superior to Brasso. Both are solutions which are not solutions, if you get my drift. (WRT Other Famous British products: avoid Marmite. It's neither a solution nor a solution.)
Better than all is a product by a US firm, Meguiar's (pronounced as if it were M'Gwire's). I've used two of their products:
> Rubbing compound, good for buffing out small surface imperfections, on alloys, stainless, brass, and good paint jobs.
> Meguiar's All Metal Polish (i.e., polish for all metals): a firm paste, THE BEST I've found, and smells like pina colada (even tho' I'd guess it's mostly petro-chemical byproducts...)
Good luck with all this. BTW, the vintage motorcycle network is a good source of info on these kinds of things. Has a strong presence in the UK, for obvious reasons.
Oh yes, the toothpaste: Of course it has a fine abrasive in it, so you could try it on something you don't value much, to see what happens. Not sure there's any post-polishing protection, despite what the ads say.
No photos chez nous to compare with Sam's beaches, for sure. But, it was brilliant yesterday on the Ottawa Valley escarpment, 25 degrees, sunny, warm, and breezy enough to keep the bugs away. High above the big river, we had a clear view due NW (whence came the wind) glinting in the sun for a good 50-60 kms or more. Lovely sight, dark blue against the greenery. No photos to prove it, of course -- took only water, banana, toolkit & energy bar on my 4-hr ride.
J.
