Need some advice on performing my first paint test spot

[Fos]

Hello Everyone:
I have a 2013 red Land Rover LR4 that I bought used inAugust 2015. This is my daily driver soI know I won’t be able to get all the scratches out to a show car shine. I just want to get it into better condition. Thepaint has been neglected and I would say it is either condition 4 MildlyNeglected Condition or Condition 5 Severely Neglected Condition according toMike Phillip’s book “The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine”. By the way Mike’s audio version of the book isreally good to listen to commuting to work each day. I provided a picture of the paint conditionwith this thread I hope.

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So, I plan to start my test process with Wolfgang FinishingGlaze, a Lake Country 5.5 inch CCS White polishing pad and a Porter Cable7424XP. I want to try the leastaggressive approach as I get started. Ifthis does not work I also have more aggressive pads, pink and orange. I also have Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover ifneeded. Lastly I just purchased the Flex3401 from Autogeek. Next I have theWolfgang Polish Enhancer to apply and after that I’m going to utilize WolfgangDeep Gloss Paint Sealant. Finally I’mgoing to wax with Wolfgang Fuzion by machine.

A couple more questions do I need a Paint thickness gaugesince this is the first time I’m working on this paint? Should I move my test spot if my processdoesn’t work the first time?
Thank you for any advice it’s nice to be back on the forumafter an absence of almost 4 years!
Richard:buffing:

[custmsprty]

I would start with TSR and an Orange pad, that's pretty heavily swirled and looks like it has water spots too from what I can tell from the picture.

[VISITOR]

try the white pad and tsr and if that doesn't do enough correction step up to the orange pad as custmsprty mentioned. remember to add some pressure and do slow arm movements...

[Rsurfer]

I would start with TSR and an Orange pad, that's pretty heavily swirled and looks like it has water spots too from what I can tell from the picture.

^this^ looks like a 2 step polishing job. After using WFG I don't think it's necessary to use the polish enhancer.

Having a paint gauge is always a good idea, but in your case I don't believe its necessary.

[PaulMys]

I would start with TSR and an Orange pad, that's pretty heavily swirled and looks like it has water spots too from what I can tell from the picture.

Yes. And with those defects, bust out that FLEX polisher not the PC.

Those are pretty bad swirls/water spots.