How do I prep aluminum for paint

[cincinnati]

Really? Is it that the wire brush wasn't too harsh for the aluminum or that you didn't allow it to stay in one spot long enough to cause damage?

I could have sworn it looked like I was about to start causing wire brush marks in the aluminum, but maybe it was just an optical illusion of the metal cleaning up???

Any marks left by the wire wheel were covered by the primer. I did not do any unnecessary work with the wheel but was not being too careful. Never felt the wire wheel was doing any harm.