I asked a lot of people what product to use for polishing my aluminum wheels.  I think I took the right path with

"Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish"  You can buy it at any of the auto parts "chain" stores.

I used a buff from Home Depot, made an arbor for it out of a 3/8" bolt, several washers and a nut and chucked it up in my 3/8" drill.  I cleaned the wheel with "Simple Green" mixed half and half with water. 

I dried the wheel thoroughly.

I spread a little "Mothers" on the rim.  Rather like finger painting seemed to work just fine.  It doesn't take much.  A little "Mothers" goes a long way.  I then commenced with the buff.  It quickly turned black as you see in the picture.  That's perfectly normal.  I buffed until I JUST started to see the paste disappearing from the wheel.

Then it was time for the terrycloth towel.  I polished the wheel by hand (and it only takes a minute) and was amazed at the shine.  All told I have about 10 minutes in this wheel you see below.