iPod How not to buff your old iPod

[FrenchKiwi]

The title explains it! I had a couple of iPods laying around that were working but not really worth anything, and I recently got my hands on a 1st gen iPod classic with the box but just a really scratched up back, so after researching I found this link AppletoTheCore (Not my website but the person who got me into collecting iPods) The link directs you to the author buffing out his old iPod, vague instructions to a beginner in buffing but something that didn't look to hard, so I thought I would give it a try!
Materials I used:

• Mothers mag & aluminum polish
• Turtle metal polish
• A dremel
• A dremel polishing kit( the same the author had)

Here is a picture of both the iPods before I started:

For the first trial I used just the Mag polish with a buffing wheel and this is what I got: Notice the letters got darker although the mirror polish, it kinda of faded the logo:

As you can tell that wasnt a good idea, proceeded on to place some turtle wax only on another ipod and got this result( The ipod with weaving the web is the ipod only with turtle wax, and the iPod to the far left is just a control which nothing was done to but to show you the original mirror finish, the far right is what happened with the Mag polish and trying to sand it with the least abrasive tool in the kit)

So any methods that worked for you guys?

 

[McPhallus]

The logo and etchings are just controlled abrasions. To that Dremel they’re no different than scratches. If it were me, I’d do it all by hand and would never use any kind of power buffer.

Aren’t those aluminum backs? I’d use 6000-8000 grit sandpaper and avoid going over the non-etched areas (or at least mask them). Then I’d polish them by hand using microfiber cloth and some metal polish (not car wax).

 

[Brian Y]

Wet/dry sand with a very VERY fine sandpaper, followed by a mildly abrasive metal polish on a soft cloth will get that up to looking like new.

You only need the dremel/power tools for very deep damage/hard surfaces.