Alright, a few questions. Tomorrow is my last day off for a while at school, and I am taking the opportunity to wash my car and do some detailing on the interior; cleaning the dash and interior windows as well as cleaning up the dirty hand prints the tint shop left on my overhang and bench.

But, I have a problem...buffing with elbow grease.

I posted a week ago about how a car had clipped mine in a parking lot, leaving a long scratch of torn away paint (leaving black metal/plastic/whatevercompossite) and white paint along my back bumper. I was told a quick buff job and little work should make all of the white go away, along with any scratches along with it (as long as they are hair-pin and not gashes).

So I went to Autozone and purchased some TurtleWax compound designed for "medium to heavy-duty scratch repair on metal, clear-coat, painted surfaces, and vehicles." It was recommended by the sales clerk, and my dad also uses nothing but TurtleWax, it was a no-brainer.

So...how do I go about the buffing process, exactly? I know to wash the car and all, get it as clean as possible, but how would I buff out the white scratches? I attempted to with a soft cloth when the incident first occured some of the paint chips chipped off of the main scratch and left clear-coat scratches up down my bumper before I could realize what I had done (wet paint, couldn't see it well).

Any tips or tricks? Should I wash the car a second time (or at least the section) after I do this work?

Are there any specific directions on the container for that product?

I know typically buffing paint/clear you wet sand the area with fine grit 1500+ or so then use a buffer wit buffing compound to bring the clear back up smooth..

I have a scratch on the top of the trunk lid I need to do on mine

Check out the Meguiars web site, lots of good info here that might help you ;)
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/index.php

Well, I played around with the instructions (seemed similar to waxing) and with a very rough cloth I went at it. I then took a more softer and fine cloth and went at it again, making it more-than-new smooth.

It did dull some of the clear-coat (although just barely). I believe I will wax the car sometime next month for protection, as well as re-shining it :D

I also had a walnut scrape on my hood which I went at and it is not gone, but is not as noticeable anymore. It does not appear to need a wax job, though. I guess I did not get as excited as I did removing the white paint :)

you need to follow up on the dull spot with a polish now. Polish is different than compound. That will shine up the dull spot.

I meant polish, not wax :D TurtleWax makes a polish, right? I'd rather not cross brands, just to be safe. I'll check out the Autozone tomorrow after class.