That sort of uneducated sales man garbage really makes me angry. There are extremely few cases where a wipe with MEK is sufficient and that would require an extremely aggressive acid-base reaction with the surface. So you can tell that salesman that he is talking through a part of his body which has functions other than speech.
I have posted my advice on this and other forums many times, but here we go again.
Adhesive bonding is a chemical process which requires chemical reactions at the bond interface. Usually covalent bonds give the best strength. To achieve a chemical reaction the surface must be clean (yes, wipe it WELL with MEK) but it must also be chemically active, so the existing oxide layer must be removed. The most effective method for metals is grit blasting using clean abrasive and clean dry propellant gas. At that stage you will have a clean, chemically active surface. DO NOT solvent clean or you will contaminate the surface. Blow the dust off with clean, dry gas. The surface will instantaneously oxidise but that surface is reactive. Now if that is all the processing you do, the bond will be strong in the short term, but will not last very long. Aluminium has an affinity for formation of hydrated oxides, Al2O3 forms Al2O3.2H2O. In service all polar molecules will attract water by absorption and that water is sufficient to enable hydration of the bonding surface. So for longer term durability you must treat the surface with something that prevents hydration of the interface. (I stress that using a sealant barrier around the bond is not a solution.)
One means of providing hydration resistance is phosphoric acid anodising and application of a chromate based primer (BR 127). The primer contains hexavalent chromium so extreme care is required and your local EPA may prohibit its use without a permit and stringent process controls.
A less risky process involves the use of organo-functional silane coupling agents such as Dow Corning's Z6040. However, if this is a one-off process I recommend you buy a kit. Google AC130 and I am sure you will find it.
Regards
Blakmax