re: If you don't know how to buff a vehicle, you should learn.

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Slow is good, fast is bad. Watch out antennas, wiper blades, etc.

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You should do a test panel on every car you do to get a feel of how hard the clear coat is. I've done cars where the paint scratches if you look at it wrong. And I've had others that took tons of pressure at full speed with a lake country orange pad and Meguiar's M101, which is the hardest cutting compound I use.

You also should tape up all plastic and rubber surfaces because polish can easily stain them.

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Anywhere the vehicle curves will have less paint than flat surfaces.

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If you use a dual action polisher, you don't have to worry nearly as much about this. But if you used one with forced rotation, like a Flex, be cautious.

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Keep in mind, buffing with compound is removing paint and paint is thin, especially on Hondas and other Asian marques.

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It's only removing paint if it's an older car. On newer cars it's removing clear coat.

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A newer vehicle rarely needs compounding, unless the finish is in really poor shape.

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Newer vehicles often need compounding. The finish done to paint at factories is generally piss poor, even on expensive stuff from Italy.

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Stick with polishing until you get the hang of using a buffer.

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Do lots of practice on a flat surface like a hood with a very light cutting polish until you can do smooth 50/50 passes vertically and horizontally.

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Also, only use the Velcro-type pads and bonnets. Don't use that tie up crap.

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Do not use bonnets. They are complete crap. Only use the Velcro pads. I highly recommend Lake Country and Hex pads from AutoGeek.