I polish the billets on my PT Cruiser every 2 weeks, and once a month pull them off to polish the backside.
Every 3 months, I go to Home Depot and buy 8 of their 1/4" shank cotton buffing wheels. I smear our aluminum polish over the rim, lock the drill on high speed and run it over the rims. Afterwards, I remove all the residue and redo with our billet polish and a new buffing wheel.
The trick is to keep the wheel moving so you dont end up with a shinier spot, and to use light/no pressure, as pressure will generate heat which will blue the aluminum.
The wheels are 18" and have 5 spokes, so there aren't really any small areas the buffing wheel can't get into. If there were, you could use a Dremel to the same effect.