First time polishing

[quickshine]

hey guys

new here, I've been browsing the forum and I have picked up a ton of useful information regarding the care and maintenance, specifically PB's write ups. However I have a few lingering questions pertaining to the polish/wax of my '95 camry.

I always thought that I took good care of my car, but after viewing this site for a while, I realized that I could have been doing a lot better.

I recently had the front end redone do to an accident and I would like to restore the luster and shine back into the rear end and doors to match closer to the new hood and bumper.

now on to the questions:

The camry is beige/gold, and I have read that lighter cars do not benefit as much from multiple polishes (specifically glaze). so what polish or polishes(2) would you recommend to get out some minor scratches and swirl marks? Originally I was planning on doing everything by hand, but if purchasing a PC will produce better results then that's the route I will take.
polishes I have heard good things about the following:
adam's polishes
griots machine polishes
poorboys
pinnacle
sonus

I plan on waxing with collinite 845 because I live in new england and I need as much protection as I can get.

1. which polish would work the best for use with 845? many lines such as adam's has at least 3 different polishes, would all of them be necessary or do I just need to use one or two? if not which ones are the most necessary?

2. there are a lot of areas on my car that are not metal, such as the side view mirrors, spoiler, bumpers etc. do I need to polish these too? or just use cleaners such as adams all purpose cleaner (The side view mirrors/spoiler are not painted, they are just gold plastic.)

3. which pads are the best to use with a PC? I was looking at lake country flat pads, and they seem like high quality. which size is the best for all around use 5.5, 6.5, 7.5?

4. Microfiber towels are one thing that I have learned alot about recently. I used to use anything I could find that was on sale. I was unaware that cheap towels cause scratching and swirls. Which towels are the best for removing polish and wax? griots has specific towels for each application and seem like a reasonable deal. adam seems to have good towels as well, but are on the expensive side. I also heard good things about pak shak towels. I need towels for both the removal of wax/polish and for drying. what do you suggest to get started?

Thanks in advance for all the help, I look forward to becoming part of this community. I will be sure to post pictures of before and after the detailing as well.

[CTB727]

1: I don't have much experience with Adam's line of polishes, so can't help you with that. I personally use Meguiars M205, and LOVE it. It removed the majority of swirl marks on my Avalon with a Lake Country light green pad. It also took out some pretty nasty severe water spots on a Nissan Murano I worked on. For deeper RIDS, and more neglected paint a two step process would be better; M105, followed by M205. If this is your first time polishing, I wouldn't recommend using M105 as it is an aggressive compound. M205 should do the trick.

2. Polish all painted surfaces. I'm pretty sure the factory spoiler is painted? An all purpose cleaner followed by a trim restorer such as Poorboy's World Trim Restorer is excellent for black plastic trim.

3. Lake country pads are awesome. Don't get anything bigger than 6.5. I have 6.5 and kinda regret it after reading reviews of people who get better results from 5.5. I would say get orange, light green, white, and black or blue. Two of each just in case one falls apart after a while. If this is the only car you will be detailing, then you'll be fine with just one each. You may not need to use orange unless you're have really bad oxidation or defects.

4. Get a nice large waffle weave microfiber towel or drying. Get many many other mircrofibers for different purposes. I don't really have brand preference, just whatever seems like good quality to me.

As always, Always perform a test on an inconspicuous area first!!

[MothersPolish]

The factory spoiler and the side mirrors that are body color are actually painted body color -- like the bumpers, they are painted with a flexative in the paint and it oxidizes more readily, so that's why it looks different.