I must be pretty lucky as I have never had to use any sandpaper. I have a 6 inch Craftsman bench buffer I use. You need to get the alumimun hot to let it flow a little when you are buffing. A drill will just not generate that much heat. The first thing you should do is use a chemical stripper to remove the clear. The red brown rouge (depending on your eyesight) will take it off, but it does take a while. It is much easier if you let the stripper get it off for you. But go ahead and experiment with it. The red / brown rouge is a rougher system which will cut faster and deeper. The green rouge will take out the marks from the red. The white will take out the finer marks from the green and give you a nice look. When done some guys clear it again, but I never clear as I want to be able to touch it up whenever I feel like it. However, I have never had to touch it up with the wheel. I just use Semichrome or MAAS polish to make it look great again. A caution for you, use safety glasses and a dust mask as it is dirty work. Plus, a good thick work glove as the aluminum gets hot. Take your time and let the rouge do the work. Use one color rouge per wheel. Do not use the red wheel with green rouge. You do not want to cross contaminate the buffing wheels. When done clean it good and use a black marker to color in the black badge on the stator cover.
