I posted this on a couple forums, but I figured I would share with you guys as well....
So based on my personal experience, these are just some of the many techniques to do this. I'm sure others have different ways or opinions, so please post them up and I would be happy to add them to here. I'll rate it on difficulty as well ranging from 1 to 5 (1 being so easy my dog can do it, and 5 being pretty difficult, so research and read before you do)
Lets start with taking a look at your enemy closely to see what you are up against:
(image taken from www.uglaze.com)
Overspray/Industrial Pollution: A paint imperfection that occurs when chemicals in the air (like paint, acid raid, insecticides, and other pollutants) land on your paint and stick to it. Removing these imperfections is like detailing your car a few times. The droplets must be removed from the paint, and then the paint underneath must be recleaned, polished, and protected with either a sealant or a wax.
Brake Dust/Rail Dust: A paint imperfection that occurs on a normal basis. When you apply your brakes, the dust from the brake pads does not only attach to the wheels, it also finds its way onto your paint. This is a relatively easy imperfection to remove, if vehicle is washed weekly. It is removed with a professional clay bar application before the vehicle is waxed or sealed.
Scratch: A paint imperfection that occurs when a sharp object (such as a finger nail, ring, shopping cart, etc.) rubs into the clear-coat layer or your paint or beyond. An average clear-coat is half of the thickness of a human hair. Removing this imperfection requires the use of a compound, wet sanding, or a polish on a machine or by hand. Some scratches that go beyond the clear-coat cannot be removed through a professional detailing service and must be filled by a body shop.
Swirls: A paint imperfection that occurs on a daily basis, when particles such as sand, dirt, salt, etc. are picked up by the wind and rubbed against your vehicles paint. Automatic car wash brushes also create deep swirl marks. Like a scratch these are removed by the use of a compound, wet sanding, or a polish with a machine or by hand.
Acid Rain/Bird Dropping Etches: A paint imperfection that occurs when a vehicles is subjected to an area where acid rain could fall onto the vehicle. The highly acidic chemicals eat away at the clear-coat of a vehicle. Bird droppings have similar acidity and thus need to be removed as quickly as noticed to avoid the acids from eating away at the clear-coat. Again, these are removed from the surface with the use of a compound or polish with a machine or by hand.
What it means to remove a scratch:
Basically it comes down to this, the scratch/swirl will only be removed when the material around the defect is removed as low as the depth of the defect. Does that makes sense? Meaning you have to remove as much clear coat around the scratch that it levels out that area. General rule of thumb is if you can run your fingernail across the scratch and your nail catches the scratch you can't safely remove it with detailing products and it must be filled with paint.
Before you do any kind of paint reconditioning, you need to prep the paint for cleaning. Do a very good wash and dry, sometimes even 2 washes are needed. Follow the wash with a clay bar application. I personally like using a foam gun with 1 bucket and a grit guard, but the 2 bucket method is better then one bucket.
Also do this in a shaded area, where the surface is cool, otherwise the product will get baked on your paint and will very very hard to remove. If you don't have a shade borrow a friend's garage, go to walmart and buy a 10x10 ez up (comes in a blue bag) for $90. If you still can't do anything about the shade, work in very small areas, I'm saying 1' by 1' areas.
Before you start: wear comfortable clothes with no jewelry or belt (you don't want to accidentally scratch a panel you just worked so hard on). Also, when you get frustrated take a break, no one is rushing you, do the best you can! If it didn't turn out the way you expected, take a second think of what went wrong, ask in this thread, etc...
1st way of removing defects is by hand:
skill level: 1
what you need:
-compound (Meguiar's Scratch-X, 3M Rubbing Compound, ect. all can be found at your local automotive store)
-polish (a pure polish, not one that says cleaner polish, wax cleaner, etc.) like Meguiar's M205
-foam application pads (I realized the foam ones work better then the cotton ones in removing defects, save the cotton ones for waxes, glazes, and sealants)
-terry or microfiber towels
start by applying a dime size amount of product onto your pad, place the product at the top of your pad as that's the only place your fingers will create pressure, like so:
Rub your little heart out in the following directions:
-side to side (black)
-up and down (red)
-diagonally (green)
The product you use will determine when you should stop. When you see the product drying and starting to haze, that means you're done. wipe it off with a clean towel. It might take more then 1 application. Once you get your scratches removed, use the polish to bring more shine back to the paint, using the same method as before. When you are removing any product with a towel, remove it with one side, then go over the area again with a different clean side of the towel to remove any dust. It's easy if you do a 2' by 2' section at a time and just go over everything slowly and carefully.
Wash and dry your car before polishing and waxing to remove compound dust. If only using polish, washing is not needed, as some sealants work best with the polishing oils still on your paint. This 100% when using products from Meguiar's only, if you are not sure about compatibility of your polish with your wax, it is best to consult the manufacturer.
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