[ChevLoRay]

To those who can buff paint, it is an art. If the compound is too aggressive, and/or you are not careful when you are applying pressure to the paint, you can buff through the paint, even to the metal.

SS = Single Stage paint, i.e., enamel, or lacquer without a clear coat.

DuPont used to make 2 grades of buffing compound: one was white, and was the finer of the two grades. The other was reddish, and was coarser.

Meguiars is a brand name of all sorts of finishes and dressings for automotive use, such as for tires, wheels, paint, chrome, and interiors, for example. Barry Meguiar is the host of "Car Crazy", seen on the Speed Channel.

Old Dupont No. 7 was a good polish, not a wax. For a wax, Classic makes a pure carnuba that is really good. Simonize is another old stand-by.

Bottom line: If the paint on your vehicle is as old as the body, you don't want to get too aggressive in compounding, polishing and/or waxing it, but some protection is better than none. I've seen old cars and trucks that had been buffed and waxed so many times that the primer was shiny where it showed through the paint. If your paint is old, it's probably thin. If it looks good when it's wet, It may be too late, but at least you'll know after you get somel wax on it. Sometimes, when you find that it looks cloudy, like you can't get the wax off of it, it needed to have been compounded first.