I recently purchased a new "winter bike" and after several short test rides, I noticed that there is some minor pulsing from the front wheel. I know it's the wheel as I switched it out and no pulsing. The wheel is anodized aluminum and it runs true. I took it out to my LBS and my friendly mechanic suggested that the pulsing was due to uneven wear on the braking surface of the wheel where some sections are bright aluminum and some still show the anodized surface. He suggested a couple of fixes that involved grinding the brake track to remove the anodized surface. I don't have the tools to do this, so he suggested purchasing a set of abrasive brake pads and use them until the brake track is uniform and the pulsing disappears. What do you think of this advice? Where do I get such brake pads? Should I just live with the pulsing since it is rather minor?
Tsapp

First, I'd simply live with the pulsing. Plenty of variables cause pulsing, and solving this now won't ensure that you won't have other issues later.

As for abrasively removing the anodizing, it's easy enough, but comes at the expense of brake track wear. It'll wear through soon enough anyway, so another reason to wait unless the pulsing is pronounced and you feel it becomes a control issue.

There are various methods to abrasively strip the brake track. One of the easiest is to buy some Scotch Brite, cut small pieces, and use strong thread or dental floss to tie to both brake shoes. Tie the ends tight, leaving the rest to do the work. Then ride in a parking lot, applying the brakes enough that you can feel the abrasive action. Be warned, the process creates heat, so stop and check rim temp frequently and rest to keep the rim below what will burn your finger. FWIW- I've seen people get the rim so hot that the Scotch Birte melts.

normal wear will eventually remove discrepancies in surface adhesion, IME. although, just the other day, after installing a rear coaster brake on my beater bike and therefor having no need of any type of particular rim braking surface, i took some 100 grit sandpaper my old rims. looks sort of like a new automobile disk rotor, uniformly dull.

I'm curious too. When you asked the mechanic where to get them, what did they say?

Pads for ceramic rims are rumored to be kinda-sorta abrasive. But the braking from those on a regular rim is quite poor.

Do the bright patches correspond to where the spokes are attached to the rim? Sometimes spoke tension will distort a rim right at the attachment points giving very slightly raised sections that the brake pads scuff up first. I had a set of wheels with Sun Mistral rims that showed this phenomenon after a couple of thousand miles. They looked odd but it caused no problems.

I didn't ask my mechanic where I could get such brake pads. I'll ask next time out. Insofar as where the wear is occurring on the braking surface, although it isn't a perfect match, there does seem to be more wear at the spoke attachment points. Interesting! I think I'll just let things be for a few hundred miles and see what happens. Thanks for the input.
Tsapp

Koolstop Salmon pads are more aggressive/abrasive than the common black pads.

Only if you dont clean the Grit Out of them . the compounds are made to Not scrub aluminum off the rim..

Hence their Term "Rim Friendly Compounds"

Having Magura HS33 brakes I used their Green compound It Is Abrasive ..
took the Mavic hard 'CD' anodizing Off, with a few Down Hill wet winter stops,
then I put the Std Black and now Salmon compound On .. to not wear the now Bare aluminum..