deco woes- next steps

Armed with some simple supplies I headed to the garage.  I first cut some blocks of wood so I could straighten the deco.  One was cut to fit perfectly in the slot where the rubber insert goes, the other spread the load across the back.  Next I used my heat gun and heated the heck out of the spot I wanted to straighten.  When it was well heated, the blocks of wood in place, it took a few smacks with my hammer to get it to where I thought it would be acceptable.
Following this I laid the deco outside on a table and sprayed the Easy Off and let it sit until it was bubbling- about 1/2 hour.  A good bath in soapy water was next.
The result of this is that the deco seems to have 95% of the anodizing removed.  It is now blotchy and has a kind of milky appearance.
Next comes sanding with various stages of wet/dry sandpaper.  My goal is not to reach perfection- it is to have a very nice appearance with perhaps a few small nicks for patina.  
​Stay tuned...