Originally Posted by danez_yoda
I use meguiars ultimate compound from walmart. its between the 105 and 205 in aggressiveness.
run it on 5 on 5 on flat surfaces. move press hard and move slow, like 2" per sec. I have the proter cable and i set for 5 abd press as hard as i can until thenpad stops rotating. then i lighten up a little to allow it to spend,
you only worry about burning the paint on the corners but the flat parts it is very difficult to burn the paint with a DA.
if the scratch is isolated. you can go after it by hand. if its deep rub it with 2000grit sand paper then buff tye haze out with the megs ultimate compound.
I would not get too aggressive with mild scratches, youll never keep tye paint perfect on a daily driver, you just apsant to keep it clean and waxed so when you wash (where most scratches come from) the dirt is easily removed without scrubbing. tye paint will look good and last a nice long time.
A detailers trick for darker colors is to use meguiars #7 befor you wax. it get down into those scratches with filling oils and turns the white scratch much darker so you dont see it, it doesnt last long but it looks really good when done. you do a wipe on wipe off with #7. you dont let it dry, almost like a spray wax.
then coat with whatever wax you were goong to use, preferable one without strong cleaners to clean out the filled scratches. meguiars high tech yellow wax is good for that. im sure tye ultimate wax is also good,
Thank you for the great response. I actually have a bottle of #7, so I am eager to try that. I think you are right in that I should let some of these daily driver type scratches go as I don't want to do more harm than good.
One of the big learning curves on the buffer was it would sometimes sling the compound everywhere. My hair, face, across the garage, and all over the windows. What a mess. haha
I also have the high tech wax you speak of. It smells like bananas to me. LOL