If you have oem laytex paint, DO NOT USE A WOOL BONNET! This paint materials does not like heat buildup and that is what a wool bonnet is designed to do...… there are what I call "waffle faced" foam type bonnets that can be purchased online or at any auto body/paint supply shop that are excellent for polishing paint... even apply wax....they are specifically designed for water-based oem paints)
A tip for apprentices is 1) you will find that it is not necessary to use your "big polisher" a lot.... just for maybe the annual detailing. 2) oem paint is this (water based) and if the clear coat is brought down to 3 mil... you will find the paint will fade very quickly …. in short...there is no longer enough paint on the car and there is no correction except to re-paint, 3) protect edges/corners/sharp body edges by running masking tape over them (1/2" is perfect) as this protects the edges from accidental "hits" with the buffer.....these edges are often "raised" as compared to the rest of the flat panels and get for friction applied to them.
As far as products go......Megs, etc. are not badproducts but they just don't hold up or work as well as commercial/professionalgrade products (that actual cost the same or less). You have to remember,everyone uses the same substances to formulate their products, what isdifferent is the purity/concentration & price.....typical retail names aremuch more expensive per ounce than commercial lines.
For specific swirl mark issues Iuse BAF/Pro Car Care Beauty Products P21 Swirl Eliminator & Polish-although for 30 years I used 3M products specifically, I have not been as pleased with the quality of 3M’s hand glaze for the past few years. I typically do not like"combination" type products but P21 is very, very impressive &effective from end result, ease of use & overall effectiveness.
As far as Wax/polish...
The absolute best ($ for $) IMHO is "Satin Cream" (for dark colors),it is made by BAF & distributed through Pro Car Care products. It is veryeasy to work with either by hand, orbital or buffer. It has the same acrylichardener as the high dollar paint sealants but it has 30% German importedcarnauba....no, your arm will not fall off putting it on or taking it off &it has a very mild polish in it as well. Even parking the vehicle outside, theMFG gives a 6 months warranty before another application is required. I usethis personally on my toys & daily drivers (which include a 1997 black Cougarsport) and all I can tell you are not even bugs like to stick to the paint-most of the time when water is applied they just float off- bird poop is justas easy. No smeary look either- very clean clear deep look. On my toys, I givethem a fresh coat about every 2 years (literally, even for a show), my dailydrivers (I have one that sits outside), I apply to the entire vehicle every 6months, and do the hood, roof and trunk every 3 months (probably overkill, butI know it is well protected from the elements including industrial fallout).
For light colored cars I use Profection PaintSealant (P-73-Q)…it is the same product as “Satin Crème” but without thecarnauba….it brings up a much higher shine which on light colored cars looksbetter IMHO (although it has less depth of shine that carnauba gives) and ithas a much higher level of polish in it.….I also use this on all my chrome,stainless, etc…it not only shines it up like new but it is sealed from theelements as well……it works very nice on the poly carbonate headlamp lenses aswell- cleaning up the lighter haze that happens over time.
BAF Industries 1910 S. Yale Street Santa Ana, CA 92704 800-437-9893
An excellent alternate product is 3M Perfect It Show Car Liquid Wax- a siliconewax/polish but excellent results as well, just maybe about 90% of the qualityof the satin cream.....this is readily available online, amazon or any auto body paint supply store as well.
For heavier polishing (compounding) I use 3M finnese series products.
and yes, while I do have a "high end" polisher, unless I have a paint correction issue (where I have had to get out my air brush or gun and spray paint), my orbital is and has been my best friend for 40 years..... and I just use a plain foam pad on it. I remove the residue with felt (heavy cotton) I purchase (about 1 yard at a time for $6-$10) from the local fabric stores.
FYI- one of your best detailing friends is water.... get a small spray bottle and fill it with water.... mist the water onto the pad 1st, then apply your product..... this is a technique I was taught 40 years ago that is still used today by your high end detailers (not the You-Tube trained experts)...… what this does is slows the product dry time...allowing you to work the product longer and reducing the chance at paint damage by reducing heat at the same time. In the summer time (or when temps hit 80+ degrees F) I will also mist the body panels..... you will also find you will get not only more effective results but use less product.