Elbow grease is a key ingregient of any metal polish.
Put it on a cloth, rub till it's all dry and as shiny as it's gonna get, then repeat as required.
Brasso sucks, too.
Try some Solvol Autosol, and a soft cotton cloth. Beauty stuff, and worth the cost. Takes only a dab at a time.
If you think you might want to do any polishing, consider a buffing wheel.
A cheapo (scrounged, if possible) electric motor, a mandrel adaptor(CTire sells for under $10, a sewn buffing wheel, and a bar of red polishing compound.
If you go that way, you want to do it somewhere you don't have to worry about cleaning up, like out on the back porch.
In any case, waiting for the polish to dry is a waste of time. Object is to get scrubbing. No scrub, no polish!
Cheers
Trev