Originally Posted by blacklimitedcoupe
Just a couple things to add about polishing with a rotary... As Golfdude stated, if you are inexperienced with the rotary, you can easily damage the paint. Be especially careful when polishing non-flat areas such as sharp creases or edges. If you keep the polisher over these non-flat areas too long, it can burn or even remove the clearcoat and paint. Also, remain steady with the polisher and keep a constant motion. Moving the polisher too slowly can burn the clearcoat, but moving it too fast will not polish to your satisfaction. Also, for fine cut polishing, such as removing fine scratches or swirls, DO NOT use wool pads. Stick with the foam pads as they are much safer. The wool pads are helpful when buffing a new paint job, but for fine polishing, I find that they cut too heavily. But I do agree, polishing is what creates the beautiful shine and wet-look.
If you do not own or want to use an electric polisher, a few coats of polish by hand, such as Meguiars polish will also produce a nice finish.
When removing the polish or wax, be sure to use a Microfiber towel as they greatly reduce the chances of scratching your newly polished surface.
BLC, I love the shine on your car, and I know you have used 3M products and a rotary buffer. My question is can I get that level of shine by hand and with some of the more available products you guys have discussed in the thread? I want my black roadster to shine like yours. I don't trust myself with a rotary buffer, never used one.