As far as the pads are concerned, I'm assuming you have a velcro backing plate to change the pads out? Or are you tied into certain pads?

If its velcro I can give my recommendation on what Lake Country Pads to use for the process.

This is what I would do personally, and I'm not sure how good of a buffer you have, which very well may play a big part in the results. Cheaper buffers cannot generate as much heat as a Porter Cable, hence not allowing the product to fully break down and give you the results you are looking for. But assuming its a decent quality buffer you shouldn't have any problems.

First step wash / dry - the most important thing here is going to be having a high quality wash mitt and drying towel to help minimize future swirls and scratches on the paint. Shampoo - as long as its a good lubricating shampoo designed for automotive use you'll be fine.

Second - Clay Bar - this will prep the surface for polishing and will help yield ideal results in the end since you will be removing macro and microscopic contamination in the paint.

Medium Cut Polish - I personally love the Menzerna Polishes and could argue that they are some of the best out there right now. Intensive Polish would be done with an orange cutting pad or a white polishing pad depending on the severity of the imperfections in your paint. Or if you're a perfectionist, do 1 coat with the orange cutting pad and a second coat with a white polishing pad. By doing multiple coats of the same polish on lesser aggressive pads, it will remove more imperfections and really bring out the gloss and depth even further.

Finishing Polish - After the coat(s) of Intensive Polish, follow up with Final Polish II. This will remove any hazing or marring that may have been induced from the Medium Cut Polish. This will leave your paint squeeky clean and ready for either a glaze, sealant or wax.

Glaze (optional step) - What a glaze will do is help fill in imperfections in the paint that could not be removed from polishing. It's a nice step when you're looking for perfection for a show or just want to have you're paint looking as good as possible. If you plan on doing a sealant after the glaze than I'd suggest Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze... if you plan on skipping a sealant and going right to a wax than I'd suggest ClearKote Red Moose Machine Glaze. You'd use a white polishing pad to

Sealant and / or Wax - Now its time to protect your paint and you have three options. Do just a sealant, which will give you more of a reflective look with some depth and gloss. The result will be longer protection and durability (3 - 6 months usually). My personal favorite is Menzerna Full Mollecular Jacket. From there you can add a wax or skip the sealant altogether and go right for a wax. A natural wax will give you the best depth, gloss and wet look, however you sacrifice durability. For protection you're looking anywhere from 3 - 8 weeks. The best wax we carry is Pinnicle Souveran, followed by P21s Concours Carnauba and Natty's Blue.

I'll PM you with a package and we can go from there.

Sincerely,

George @ Detailed Image