polishing compound/ ultimate compound problems
 

about a year ago my brother got this polishing compound from turtle wax, and i used it on my car with a pad and taking itoff with a microfiber. it put grainy small scratches in my clearcoat and could be seen when i look close-up to the paint. so i left it for a while, waxed the car a lot to see if it would eventually come out after a while, and it didn't. so my brother has this ultimate compound i used about two weeks ago with a drill and an applicator pad about 6 inches in diameter. i used it like a buffer on my car with the ultimate compound to see if something less gritty would take out something left behind that was, i learned afterwards, pretty damn gritty. so now there's swirl marks all over the car (only did hood, front quarter panels, trunk, spoiler and rear bumper) and can be seen the best in bright sunlight. i'll try to take a picture if needed. i used scratch and swirl remover (turtle wax) on monday after washing, and it didn't do much to wash out the swirls.

any ideas? did i just royally ruin my paint?

No, you didn't ruin the paint. but it's going to take some work to get it out and back to normal. Remember, when you have good paint, the best way to take out swirl marks, is don't put em in there! First of all, I would say deep six the turtle wax products and keep clear of "abrasives". There are products that you will find to work really well, and some that use chemical cutters rather than just abrasives. Personally, I have used a lot of Zaino products and have had excellent results. This would be a good product to start with to remove scratches and swirls: Zaino Fusion I like Fusion, I've tried it on some poor paint conditions and have had terrific results. Read through their site a little and look for pointers.

I'm sure there are some Adams products some other guys here can lead you towards. They seem to have a good following also, but I just haven't tried them before. I see that they have some videos for polishing. Give them a look. Getting the right product first, is a good start. Also, don't take this the wrong way, educate yourself on technique for polishing. It'll go a long way. Everyone has to learn somehow. You'll get it lookin good if not better.....