40K,
We have tried about everything and if you are really talking about the extremely fine scratches then you may never get them out if you are using a wool pad.
We have had the best luck with the following procedure:
We threw the wool pads in the trash and got the most agressive foam pad we could find. Then we used a 3M very agressive compound. I think it was called "Super" something or another. We polished it out until it was quite nice looking. We then switched pads and used the finishing glaze they recommended. It was called "finish" something or another. That usually got the car looking quite nice. We then changed pads again and got the very, very fine finishing pad and literally buffed in the wax. That usually hid the very fine scratches. '
Now, remember, I haven't polished a paint job in years and years and I hear they now have DA paper and DA pads and that the orbital action helps alot with the scratches.
We generally polished out 1200 grit scratches as the 1500 took forever to sand. We changed the paper quite frequently and made sure there was no dust in the air. We even polished in the paint booth to keep the scratches down.
Frankly, it was such a pain in the butt we figured out how to sand our aluminum bodies so we didn't have to paint them--no joke. I can't think of anything I have ever done in my life that was as frustrating as painting a car. We simply refuse to do it now.
Be careful, as you can easily sand through the paint or buff it off. The problem with a wool pad is the wool pad itself makes scratches that are hard to get out.
As for power sanding or DA sanding the paint, I have heard it is done, but I would be extremely careful. If you catch an edge (very, very easy to do), then you will end up painting the car again.
You must be extremely careful with edges. Whatever you do, do NOT mask them off and then sand and polish over the paint. You will end up with stupid masking lines showing up like ghosts in your paint. (Don't ask how I know
).
I hate to tell you this, but by the time you waste all of your time and buy all of the right materials and such, you will end up saving very little money doing it yourself. (That doesn't count the bottles of antacid you will go through--or heaven forbid you need to repaint the car because you buffed or sanded through the paint).
David
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