Wolfgang Twins
On the recommend of several forum members, I bought the Wolfgang "Twins" - Total Swirl Remover and Finishing Glaze. Got them on BOGO a few weeks ago. The weather in PA finally cleared enough yesterday to try them out on my metallic charcoal grey 2008 RAV4. The products were even easier to use than they say. They really are foolproof and results are fantastic. My RAV wasn't all that bad, just light spiderweb swrils all over from 3 years of daily use. It took me about half the car with the TSR to get the techniques Mike P talks about in his articles and videos, so the TSR took me 2 hrs with a few breaks. The FG went much faster - about and hour, but my wife buffed for me (thanks, hon).
Both the TSR and FG are very easy to use. Since my car had only fine swirls I followed Mike's instructions of using the least agressive method and chose a flat white LC pad. I started with a speed of a little less than 5 on the PC. After a bit, it became clear that this was too slow to break down the TSR effectively so I bumped to 5.5. That worked perfect. You could see the TSR break from opaque to clear as the diminishing abrasives broke down and you could see the paint gloss.
After I got the pad primed with a couple sprays of DP NR cut to QD strength and a circle of product, each panel took 3 to 4 pea-sized dots for product. I doubt I used more than 2 oz for the whole car. The product removes with just a light buffing from a microfiber towel. A newb couldn't ask for an easier product to use.
Using Mike's "clean-on-the-fly" technique, the pad stayed so clean I only used one for the whole car. I did mod the technique a bit - I sprayed the pad with 3 - 4 shots of QD and then balled the terry cloth rag as I held it against the pad. That cleaned the pad perfectly.
I chose a flat grey LC pad for the FG. I used the same speed setting. Again, you can see the FG break down and the paint gloss if you watch closely. If anything, the FG buffs off even easier. I followed the FG with Menz Powerlock as the LSP sealant. I'm gonna add a coat of Collinite 845 later this week. I finished too late to do it yesterday, and I was dead anyway :-).
One thing I would do differently is not tape so much. I did fully tape the car, covering all panel seams so polish didn't get into places it would be tough to remove. I think this is overkill. You use so little product it's not going to pack into the seams. Next time I'm just gonna tape moulding and places I could bump with the DA like door handles and the mirrors.
I highly recommend the WG "Twins". Very user-friendly and they do a super job as advertised.
Sorry, no photos. It was still very cloudy in PA yesterday and the digital would not pick up the correction. Maybe the sun will come out today and I'll shoot some after shots.