Hello! I'm new to this website, just joined yesterday, so forgive me if this topic has been discussed recently, but...
can anyone tell me of a really good, hopefully simple, way to renew the finish of my character cake pans? I like to search for them at garage sales, flea markets, etc., and sometimes they aren't exactly in 'like new' condition.
I like to display my pans, so even though they might work as good as ever, I would still like for them to look better. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!
How about sand paper ? the lowest grade.
But doing it slightly, just enough to remove any stains. 
Right....when I wash my Wilton pans in the dishwasher, they come out looking chalky.....what should I do about that? And please don't say hand wash.....I am too lazy for that! 
I had a set of pans that went into the dishwasher and came out whitish also. I rubbed a little vegetable oil into them and it helps at least until you use them again. However, they still come back whitish after. I don't think there is much that can be done.
I was watching TV late one night. Haley's Hints came on....it said to use a paste of vinegar and cream of tartar to remove the grease from oven racks or anything else with baked on grease. How about that?
Might restore it....or lemon juice and salt? That restores the shine on copper. Maybe our cake pans too? I haven't had to try this one, cause ......sigh...... 
.......I don't have a dishwasher anymore.
Hope this might help, or give you ideas. 
I HATE to throw them out, but I'm afraid the chalky stuff might get onto the next cake, or be some sort of a reaction with the pan that shouldn't be eaten... That may not make sense, but I wish someone had the answer for certain. If anyone does - I'M LISTENING!
I really do appreciate your replies to my inquiry about bringing old cake pans back to life. What I actually ended up doing was using a very fine grade of steel wool. I had to be careful about the direction I rubbed and it still didn't turn out perfect, but at least it's shiny again. I tried the lemon juice, even tried tomato juice (I know that when I cook spaghetti, the inside of the pot is as shiny as can be afterwards - I guess it's the acid doing the trick.) But that didn't work on this pan either. I'm going to keep trying different things and if and when I find a miracule cure, I'll be sure to post it here. Thanks again everybody for your time and expertise.
that "chaulky" stuff is NORMAL oxidation -- the same that turns your true silverware that ugly brown, that makes copper go the pretty green, that makes iron go to rust, your potatoes and apples go black...and yours and my cells slowly give up the ghost! nothing stays shiny forever (not metal, not glass, not teeth, not hair---oh don't go there!!!)
wash it before you use it -- you'll be fine
(unfortunately, I haven't found any "aluminum" polish like you can get silver and copper polish, and, frankly, it wouldn't be worth the trouble)
Really wish I'd known about this last week! For the first time I got lazy and popped 4 of my pans into the dishwasher and now they look chalky as you've all described. I really don't like the way they look at all. Can't understand why they turn that way??? I've washed them in very hot water in the sink and they always come out looking great, now I hate for anyone to see them. Really stinks! 
I won't make this mistake again! 
I bought some used Wilton pans at a garage sale and they were chalky. I still use them but they do bake a little differently. My cakes don't come out a golden brown color, just a light brown, even though they are done. I've used them side by side. But it really doesn't matter because they taste the same.
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