fixies don't often carry brakes; it is a fashion faux pas in the fixie world, of course. I think you'd be best served by polishing only up to the braking surface, if you are going to run rim brakes. The polish will be quickly eroded by any crap that gets in between the brake and the rim.

I'd like to take an official position on the fixie thing, after watching the smoke and flames for months now. Yep, they sometimes ruin dropouts. Not as effectively as the crusher ruins dropouts. I am all for any human-powered vehicle on the road; we should not, as a fairly important resource in the cycling world, discourage anyone, in any way, from propelling themselves around without assistance from fossil fuels.

If a dropout gets cut; if an original finish gets spraypainted; if some cable guides get trashed; we need to remember - to almost everyone else on the continent, it is a ooooold bicycle that is only one step away from the dumpster (if that). If art, artisanship, or style gets it back on the road, that is a good thing.