Polishing oxidized eames 670 bases-any recommendations?  

Gentlemen thanks-never bought the Dremel.
I think I'll opt for the drill kit,as it's not likely I'll be polishing much else.Besides,I am in an apartment,with not much room.Thanks so much for all the suggestions-truly great info!!

I'm debating
LRF is upholstering an Aluminum group for me and now I'm debating whether I should polish the base or leave it oxidized, or some variation.
The armrests/frame/antlers seem pretty bright but the base is just... blah. I'm not sure I have the time or space to invest in a wheel kit so I'm exploring hand options.
Has anyone had any luck with just bringing some luster back to the feet without a full blown wheel-polish? Are there any tips to hand polishing? (aside from 'use a wheel')

i had a set of 6 ...
i had a set of 6 chairs and i sent them out to be professionally polished at 60 a chair they were a set of the aluminum group and to say the least i was disappointed in the way they looked, still dull.
my clinet was happy cause they were a real mess so any thing would look good
In my humble opinion leave them alone

The problem with polishing...
The problem with polishing an aluminum group chair is that the aluminum is clear-coated. If you want to remove oxidation, you have to strip the clear coat from the frame and the base. I've used JASCO stripper for this purpose. This takes time, stinks, and burns your skin if you are unfortunate enough to come in contact with it.
Once the lacquer has been stripped from the chair frame and base, a polish will make the chair look fabulous. Even a hand polish will do wonders once the lacquer is gone.
After that, you have to decide whether you want to re-lacquer it or just leave it as is. If you leave it as is, it will oxidize again, so you'll have to keep polishing it every so often.
I stripped and polished the arms of 5 aluminum group chairs with great results.
fm

I have had NO LUCK with...
I have had NO LUCK with those drill kits. I ended up using a common polish available in any auto store called Mother's. I just just a rag and my hands. You'd be amazed aty how well it works. I've used it on H bases and the base to a Steelcase sofa.
I have been trying to polish up a 4 star aluminum group base with bad results. They must be coated? and the H bases are not?

I think the h bases will be...
I think the h bases will be chrome plated steel so they dont require a clearcoat
pete

Pete beat me too it.
Pete beat me to it.
I hand-polished my aluminum base once I'd stripped the lacquer from it. Drills just don't have the RPMs to make effective polishers. I have a Dewalt rotary polisher and keep it set to about 1000 RPM. If you know how to use one, nothing beats it. Just don't burn through your paint if you're detailing a car. 🙂
fm

I dont think
Vintage H bases are zinc coated and can be cleaned up with a little bit of 0000 steel wool.
But I dont think the star aluminum bases have a lacquer on them. If you look at the photo I posted the chair arms and handles are still bright - but the base is uniformly dull. If it were laqcuered I would imagine dullness in areas of high wear, but not across the board.
I've definitely scrapped the drill idea. Just no room for it. Who has experience with hand polishing? I'm willing to put in the elbow grease, but I'd like to know if anyone has good luck with certains product. Incidentally I'm in the US.