Ken Freeman opined: " I realize this was not the question, but many CR-correct aluminum parts were not originally mirror polished, so "restoring" them in this way is not an act of restoration but of artistic license."
Mark Stonich followed: "Once I polished up some old Campi high flange hubs with Simichrome and followed up with a coat of NuFinish polymer based car polish. Stayed so shiny that 3-4 years later I overheard, "Look, some idiot chromed his Campi hubs." ".
I interject: We can't or shouldn't gloss over the "hot-rod" aspect that I know I did back in the day and I can't imagine this group not doing to some degree. This generally started out innocently enough-- something like switching out plastic-bodied Simplex for early SunTour. Later, as we and the components progressed, it was replacing Campy downtube shifters with Simplex retro-frictions. Sometimes we had logical reasons like we are simply improving our machine-- a missed shift in a race might make all the difference and the Simplex would therefore make us better, etc. Sometimes it was for looks not function. Admit it guys, you thought Mavic or Weyless hubs were pretty... and then there was the matter of the Crane being a better deraileur (someone told you) than Campy's, CLBs being an out-of-the-box trick for weight weenies without a drill press. And who among us did not read Richard Jow's columns in Bicycling! back in the day and think their centerpulls couldn't shine as nicely as his in that polishing piece you read? So our bikes may have evolved a bit, whether we admit to it today or not. Besides, a little Simichrome was a relaxing way to kick back (as you listened to Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps) allowing that machine to gleem in the sunshine after a really great ride.
I also will say that seat post polishing can make for a loosening tendency of the post as there will be, in some cases, less grip which could lead to slippage.
I still cherish my hot-rodded Eisentraut "A" with drilled, polished and inner-ring-removed Stronglight 93s, polished Phil Woods, alloy toe clips on TA pedals...you get the idea. Chronologically almost all are from within a few years but tweaked for esthetics and function. In other words, custom frames were meant, for customized parts menus.
Ken Wehrenberg, Hermann, MO USA