While I can't imagine doing an entire vehicle by hand i did a long time ago and still remember.
I also still hand polish around tight spots. The smallest i go with my machines is 2" pads. I can finesse those into pretty tight areas but i still need to finish some areas by hand and a mf applicator (e.g. rear plate light, some recessed panels etc.).
I sometimes change to a lighter polish for these areas and rub, rub, rub. My 2 favorites for that are Griots Perfecting Cream or Duragloss 501.
I did a 4 stage [clay, paint cleaner, polish, wax] using Meguiars Liquid Crystal steps by hand on my old 1992 Eldorado Touring Coupe back around 2007. It took me 4 days and I was exhausted by the time I got done.
I also did the same on my old 1997 Cadillac Seville in 2014 using Meguiars Clay, Ultimate Polish, Ultimate Compound then showed up at Meguiars headquarters in Irvine California where I met Mike Stoops for the 1st time. [Meguiars detailing classes] He came out and wanted to see what kind of job I was able to get done by hand. Back then I didn’t know the difference between the squirrel and a swirl, so he was nice with his critique. Lol.
But the important thing for me was the oxidation I was able to remove from the paint on that car that restored the shine on that Cadillac. Ultimate Compound by hand absolutely wowed me.
Here’s my original before/after photos from 2014. Done by hand.
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