Now, Don't Jinx Me! Finally, A Red Update for you all. . .

I am starting with dent straightening: I take the piece, turn it so that the backside of the surround is accessible, place the front side of that portion in a dished out piece of wood corner trim, secure the piece to be wacked on with furniture clamps, then use a light hammer and oaken tools to work what are dents in the side you see into "peaks" on the front face. So, a crater on the visible side is pushed back out into a small risen area.

I use whatever is available to straighten the piece of aluminum: small flat screw drivers, metal punches, a blunted chisel and shaped wooden implements to work the metal back into some semblance of its original shape.

The anodizing on the aluminum is a pain, but fortunately not very thick on the pieces I am working. 80 grit and a palm sander takes the material down rapidly- including those "peak" areas on what will be the visible side.

I cut the metal down until basically level, then start the process to remove the heavy scratches: palm sand with 150 grit, then move to 320 with a hand sanding tool, then on to 500 and 1000 grit directly by hand. Labor intensive; I do begin to see a shine by the time I get to the 500 grit.