Blackstone.. there is NO paint that will do a truly polished looking surface..

Even the http://www.alsocorp.com paints don't d a truly REFLETIVE surface.. and NO standard silver paint will... ever.

I'm getting ready to get some metal polished for http://www.wack-o-magic.com and I'm sending it out. It's a bargain for the price and the time I'll save. then again.. I live in Los Angeles, where I can get ALMOST anything at my fingertips... material or labor.

I agree but why would you need your apparatus to be that reflective and shiny unless you want to blind your audience the way DC does with his floodlights.

Because silver paint ALWAYS looks like silver paint.. .and polished or even "ghosted" chrome looks like metal. It's a matter of looking expensive or looking cheap... Even the anodized "silver" stuff tends to look cheap.

Also, keep in mind where props are used... on a stage what is already lit up. The wrong finish or costume can kill a show. The bright shiny reflective surface brings some zazz to the act, especially if nothing else on the stage is shiny. Nothing is worse than a cheaply made or poorly finished prop.

Ace hardware has both dull finish and shiny angle at a different price level. Does anyone have any tips on cutting and bending?

A fine tooth carbide tipped blade in a standard chop saw does a fine job of cutting aluminum angle. If the metal is thin I would strongly suggest attaching a sacrificial wooden fence to your chop saw (both horizontally and vertically) to create a zero clearance fence. This will support the shape of your angle and prevent you from catching an edge and bending the angle. The zero clearance fence will also prevent any small cut off pieces from becoming projectiles. Before making the cut give the aluminum a shot of W-D 40 and slowly make your cut. Also after making the cut let the blade come to a full stop before raising it back out.

Cutting aluminum on the chop saw without a zero clearance fence is a little scary because sooner or later you will catch an edge or a cut off piece will get caught up in the spinning blade and violently fly across the shop! BE CAREFULL

After rereading the post above I just realized you didn’t say the angle you found at ACE Hardware was Aluminum! Sorry I just assumed it was because this thread is about polishing aluminum. Only Non-Ferrous metals( metals without iron like Aluminum, copper, brass, zinc) can be cut with a carbide blade in a standard high-speed chop saw!