Hi, I'm brad and I suck at polishing (maybe just new)

[KB in MD]

thanks for the replies.. I will get a panel from the junk yard and start to practice!

I hope I can control the walk because it seems impossible to get the feel for the machine, especially if its walking all over the place.

I had the same walking issue. I found using a smaller pad really helped me get a better balanced feel for the rotary

[KB in MD]

You'll find a little relief from the walking around and hopping that a rotary polisher (especially with foam pads) can do by practicing what I call "the twist". The twist refers to how you guide (or steer) a rotary polisher over paint by applying a twisting force on the trigger handle of the machine. Twist the trigger handle to the right and the machine and pad tracks to the right, twist the trigger handle to the left and the machine and pad will track to the left.

If you've ever seen a janitor buffing floors in a school building or in an office complex etc., he applies the twist to his giant rotary floor buffer in this same manner, though he pushes down on the right handle so his floor buffer will track to the right of the hallway he's buffing out. He then pushes down on the buffer's left handle and his floor buffer tracks back to the left side of the hall...so on and so forth, working back and forth to the end of the hall.

Same exact principle, different tool.

When your buffer and pad are perfectly flat against the paint, any side of the pad, at any time can begin to pull the machine in any direction. Applying the twist applies a little more force on one side of the pad over the other. This will cut and finish more efficiently and cause for a much smoother and controlled operation of your rotary buffer.

Throw a soft finishing pad on your rotary, as someone else mentioned, grab you some glaze (non abrasive) and practice "The Twist".

this is a very good analogy