Apologies to start a new thread on a topic that has been discussed in great depth, but I have just spent my entire lunch break and a few previous evenings trying to locate a post I came across some time ago, with no luck! So Iv'e given up and am just going to ask...

I want to clean the kickstand, crank and aluminum calipers and levers from my 1950s Schwinn.

I'm thinking dawn and hot water for the aluminum brake parts. Would mineral spirits be harmful? They look bare, but maybe there's some sort of clear coat.

The previous thread I saw showed someone who had polished up their Schwinn crank and kickstand with some sort of rubbing paste... any ideas?

No access to fancy things like ultrasonic cleaners BTW!

TIA

TdH