I have a couple of old wheel sets where the rims and hubs polish up great but the spokes are a chalky, dingy gray. I made the mistake of cleanings the spokes on one set with a scotch brite pad and steel wool. I apparently ruined whatever protective layer was on them because they looked great for a week and then quickly rusted. I re-sanded and applied paint sealer which seems to last a little longer but still not great.

On another set I tried Simichrome and aluminum polish. The spokes are still dingy and chalky.

Any way to spruce up these old spokes without losing their protective coating? I'm not a wheel builder (yet) so looking for alternatives to replacing with new spokes.