Thread: Polishing: Shop cloth vs paper towel

No, Even wax will dull the shine. Aircraft aluminum is typically Alclad, which has a very thin layer of pure aluminum over the alloy. Pure aluminum oxidizes very slowly but it very soft. Just keeping it out of the weather, clean (splattered acid filled bugs!) and dry reduces maintenance to a few dozen hours a year with a cyclo. Much of that work is to remove tough exhaust stain and scratches from people touching it.