I have a couple of questions regarding sanding aluminium before polishing it.

I have a number of engine covers that are quite tricky to sand back because of their contour lines and placement of holes ect.

I have started out with around a 180 grit wet and dry paper, using different fluids (metho, kero and water) to see what gives the best result (metho seems to work best for me). It seems to take quite some time and I am curious to know if I am able to use a dry sander for the first couple of passes over the aluminium before hitting it with the wet and dry paper. Would this be okay to do?

Also, I am looking at some sanding drums but I noticed that there is no wet and dry paper to suit these drums. Does anyone make this stuff at all? I haven’t been able to find a great deal of products in terms of wet and dry mouse sander pads either. Could anyone point me in the right direction for this too?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks