The aluminum in aluminum siding isn't what is oxidizing here. The paint is oxidizing. If it was the aluminum, it would be available only in gray or in a few metallic colors available where aluminum has been anodized. And you can easily remove the aluminum oxide layer on the outside of raw aluminum. It's not different from removing the layer of copper oxide on the outside of brass, bronze or copper objects. With both metals, you have to keep air away if you want to keep the shiny look of new aluminum or copper. One way to do this is with a coat of spray lacquer.
That nice black color that comes off oxidized aluminum, aluminum oxide, is the same stuff that does the work on your wet/dry sand paper. Some grades of commercial aluminum also have silicon in them and it is in the metal as silicon oxide. Silicon oxide is the yellowish stuff that's on someof your woodworking sandpaper. When you cut or machine the aluminum that has a lot of silicon in it, it is really abrasive to cutting tools.
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