I think I'm there
 

Just went out and did another section. I did it a little differently. I am using the Maguire's 2.0. Once it started to dry up, I added a little more. I did that about 4 times. Then I applied my Blue Coral polish and went over it again about 3 more applications.

Right now, it's extremely hard to see any micro-scratches.

Now that I'm getting the hang of it, it's time to do the whole car, maybe this weekend.:icon_headbang:

Very nice! Be careful though, you don't want to leave a polisher too long in an area or you can burn right through the clear coat. A nice paint thickness gauge would be a worthwhile investment.

I think my problem was that I didn't keep applying the Maguire's 2.0 (the abrasive stuff) enough when buffing. If I keep it moist (keep adding the compound) when using the buffer, this seems to be what I was doing wrong. There are almost no scratches now on the area I focused on.

I just took a look at my, "Blue Coral" stuff. It says it's a, "Sealant". So I'm not sure which category this falls into. I know the process is, compound, polish then wax. So I'll have to do more research on that and make sure I'm using the proper stuff. I might be missing the application of a polish. I suspect the sealant might be in the wax category though.

I just got home from work (6:00 am) and will try to do another section of the car before I go to bed. I will however, be VERY careful NOT to touch the buffer to ANY of the plastic parts such as the hood scoop or stripes etc. I'll just have to do those by hand as I don't want to have anymore "oops".

Naturally, I'll be back with another update... hehe (are we having fun yet?):icon_tinykitball:

Today, I'm going to do the rest of the car (horizontal surfaces only). Then I'll wash it again and remove all the splatters that the buffer leaves. When I'm done today, it should be the way I want it. It's not sunny out so I probably won't take any pictures, but rest assured, I'll be posting some of them once the sun's out.

Yeah, sealant is used in place of wax in your case. Sealant is synthetic and will last longer, but it gives a different shine which you may or may not prefer over a carnauba wax. It's just a personal preference thing really.

You mentioned the plastic trim. If you want to do it right, get some tape and tape off those areas. You aren't going to get very far hand polishing those areas, so just save yourself a lot of hassle by throwing down some quick tape and polishing right up to it.

The areas I damaged are not an immediate concern for me right now. Right now, I'm working on perfecting the buffing process. As soon as I post this, I'm going to wash the car, blow dry it, then finish off the buffing process to remove the micro-scratches (as best I can). Then I'll polish it with my Blue Coral sealant and I should be good-to-go.

Re taping off the areas I don't want to use the buffer on... well, I'll probably just be careful not to touch the buffer on them (such as the stripes, plastic parts etc.). The only areas that I'm concerned about re removing the scratches are... the hood, top of the car but the trunk which actually doesn't seem to have any scratches on it for some reason.

Okay, off I go to wash the car... Be back in a while.

You can use wax after you apply the sealant to provide further protection to your paint and a deeper gloss.

Ya, I'll do that. I'm finding that buffing (removing micro-scratches) is a LOT of work and is a slow process (for me, being a novice anyway). I'm not sure I'd have the energy to do this very often. After buffing, I have to wash the car to remove the spatters and they don't come off easily for some reason. Maybe it's just a matter of wetting the car, letting it soak for a few minutes, then rub them off with my micro-fiber rag. I guess once I've buffed the areas of concern (horizontal surfaces) I won't have to do it again if I'm careful about how I wash it. I'll continue to build up my microfiber supply so I don't have to skimp on using fresh ones.

I'll wash it once more tomorrow, then apply a wax (I'll have to go buy a wax and stop using the Blue Coral...) I can't see me using the buffer every week even when applying the wax. It's SO much quicker just to apply it by hand and I don't have to bother getting the buffer's extension cord out etc.

Side note... I wonder if Maguire's "quick detailer" would remove the spatters easily (so I don't have to wash the car and use my "spotless" water system. You're supposed to replace the resign once you reach a certain level (on the system's meter)... and I'm already seeing the system's level rise, though I have a while to go, the replacement cartridges are expensive...