Hello Mac (is that your name?) Everybody has his own method, they all seem to work as long as you are patient. I always clean an old cylinder first with paintremover (dirty job), then remove difficult dirt with a scraper. This you do only with streetbikes of course, racers never get so dirty. Afterwards I always beadblast (fine glass) the cylinders (also crankcases). When you use very fine glassbeads you get (anyway I do think so) a very good finish. Finally a small touch-up with fine steelwool does the rest! With kind regards, Ludy Beumer
I find using a wire wheel in a drill works on most things, using a strong solvent to dissolve the worst is the way to start & then soak in WD40 or similar & go at it with the wheel. I sometimes polish edges of fins/rocker boxes etc with Autosol & a cloth wheel too depending what bike/finish I'm after.