HIGH SPEED BUFFING I don't want to get into a battle of the orbital vs. high-speed buffers but I will offer advice on high-speed buffers, the kind professionals and serious amateurs use. If you have an orbital and are happy with it great. If you want to buff your car in half the time with twice the results read on. To effectively polish the paint on your car and remove swirls, embedded contaminants and oxidation you need to have a buffer than can spin a pad at the proper speed to generate heat. The heat softens the paint so that you can use less aggressive polish than you would normally use by hand or orbital. A high-speed buffer will not damage your paint (unless you drop it on your car) anymore than hand rubbing or orbital buffing. The reason you hear horror stories is that they don't use the correct equipment, the correct polish and the correct pads. I can imagine that if you use the same hand-rubbing compound on a high-speed buffer you will see what the metal under paint looks like quickly. I have buffed the plastic polyester finishes on Pianos which are way more delicate and prone to burning than clear coat so I think it's perfectly safe. So while experimenting with different stuff may suit an experienced detailer I'll try to be as specific as I can for the beginner. First off you'll need a buffer. The best buffer I've found and works for me is the Makita 7" Polisher/Sander. I have the 9217SPC because it has an electronic speed control and gives be consistent results. Other brands will work fine as long as they can go down to 1,500 rpm. Make sure it has a 5/8" arbor as most good products depend on this. Next off are pads. I recommend 6" pads for beginners because it's small enough that it's difficult to generate the type of heat that would damage paint. The larger the diameter of the pad, the hotter the paint gets, the faster you can work, the more damage you can cause. Also get pads that are around 2" thick. Thick pads will absorb some of the shock from applying the buffer and lower your risk. Don't get Velcro pads because they seem to vibrate too much since you can't get them centered perfectly. They are fine for orbital because their intent is to vibrate more. Pads come in various coarsenesses. Get a medium cut pad to remove deep swirls and a light cut pad to remove light swirls and polishing marks left by the medium pad. If you're car is lightly swirled a light cut pad is all you need. Then you need polishing compounds. What I find best is an oil based polish with a high clay content that's creamy and thick. Polishes also come in different coarseness. Use a mild cutting polish that is designed to remove light scratches and swirls with the medium cut pad. Use a light polish with the light cut pad. Do not use consumer grade swirl remover like Meguires. It will do the job but you will be wearing most of the product because it splatters like mad and you'll need more of it because it doesn't cut very well. The best place I found for polishes and pads is MalcoPro (http://www.malcopro.com/auto.htm). They typically sell to professionals but call them and have a rep come to you. They can show you how to do it and recommend products. I use Light Finish with the light cut pad most of the time. For more aggressive cutting I use Buff-Lite II. The also offer some one step stuff like Foam Pad Polish and it works well also. Although they would love to sell you gallons at a time they do offer 8 oz. bottles that will last you though several buffings for about $5. The pads are $15 each. The first step in any buffing is to strip off the old wax and dirt. Use a strong mixture of dishwashing soap and work it in real well into every nook and cranny. Dry the car afterwards. The slightest dirt will mess up your work no matter what method you use to polish. The wax buildup will gum up your foam pad and make you work harder. Also cover your tires, as it's a pain to get polish off tires. Wear soft clothing with no exposed belt buckles or rivets. Use microfiber towels for every step, have several clean ones around. Now here's the technique I use regardless of which polish/pad you need. Screw a clean pad on the polisher and put a 1" diameter blob of polish on the center of the pad. Press it against the car and turn the polisher on the slowest speed (usually 1,500 rpm). Don't do this and you will wear buffing compound. You can drape the cord over you shoulder or whatever technique keeps it from slapping against the car. Keep the pad flat against the paint and moving at all times. Do an area about 1/4 the size of the hood and use a W pattern and go around this area overlapping strokes until the polish is consumed. You want to do an area that will allow the product to be consumed. Too much product and you have a large cleanup ahead of you and too little doesn't do the work. You want to move in a slow steady pace to let the paint heat up but not stand in one place and burn it (like ironing clothes). After you’re done with the whole car wash it well with dishwashing soap to get rid of the polish dust and residue and dry it off well. If you started with the medium cut pad/polish, start the whole process over again with the light cut pad and polish. Be extra careful and avoid sharp edges on your car because paint is thinner at these points and you may wear through. If you are concerned, use masking tape over these areas. Practice on an older car until you get the feel of it. After you are done polishing and you are impressed by the shine you will need to protect it. I recommend putting wax on by hand even though some people use an orbital to do it. I find it doesn't save me time and by then you are tired of working an 8 pound polisher anyway. The wax will not make the car shinier, just protect it. The trick with wax is to use as little as possible. It makes your job of buffing off excess easier, produces less dust and saves you money. I use Klasse All-In-One available at many MB dealers. It works great and lasts months. Many people also are happy with Zaino. Stay away from cheap off the shelf products as they don't last and don't shine the way the synthetics like Klasse and Zaino do. Also I haven’t found that Glaze after waxing makes much difference. Malco Pro will have some professional glazes and such and they work well but I still prefer Klasse. If you have questions, feel free to ask. If you prefer Orbitals look at that thread. I've tried them and they are not for me.