Hi All! Although I am a first time poster, I've been living on these boards for a long time now and have learned so much, so thank you!

I've done my best to educate myself on proper techniques, products, etc. and am dedicating tomorrow and part of the weekend to finish my car overhaul that I started a few weeks back. Tomorrow is exterior day!

I have a DA polisher, three pads, rubbing compound, polishing compound, polish, wax, touch up paint in a spray can, primer, etc ready to go. I know I can't wax after painting the scratches in the paint for a month or so after completion, so I wanted to see if this order made sense:

1) Rubbing compound
2) Polishing compound
3) Polish
4) Wax
5) Dish soap down the larger scratch areas to remove wax from them
6) Tape around each scratch so the paint around it does not show
7) Prime, and prime, and prime
8) Spray the color multiple times until it's the right height
9) Rubbing Compound on the painted areas
10) Polishing compound on those areas
11) Polish those areas
12) Wait a month then wax entire car again after a good wash.

Does this make sense or am I slightly crazy? The reason I want to do the whole car before the paint is so that a) I know exactly which scratches and such will not come out, and b) I'd like the parts of the car that don't have new paint to look fresh and great for the month.

The answer to the question you might be thinking ("why do you need to paint scratches?") is that my mother borrowed the car a few years back during the winter and cleaned the snow off with a metal shovel. Bad news bears.

There are a few small specks on the front of the hood and bumper that need paint but since I only have aerosol, I will spray into dish and use brush to paint them.

Also, swear last question - for the polishing compound, should I use a cutting pad or the polish pad (2 of 3)