I'm hoping that "Detailer" or some of the paint/body pros on the board can help me with this situation. Advise is welcome from all, so if you've been in my shoes, please post.

For starters, my North American market Deep Blue '87 240 Wagon (no clear coat, original factory paint, and I'm guessing a medium/light buildup of oxidation) was parked at home while I was gone for awhile (a month ago). A person who also resides at my residence was painting with some silver spray paint in the driveway (just after a hard rain) and a lot of silver mist found its way to the upward facing surfaces of my car (mostly hood, roof, and windshield). Due to the beaded up water puddles on the car, the paint formed some very weird circular patters that are quite visible when standing next to the car.

As of a couple days ago, the same person started to remove the silver paint (and also some paint oxidation) using the 3 steps listed below, but operations have ceased and I need to finish the job of buffing and polishing so it looks uniform again. Here's what's been done so far:

Step 1: "Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound (Heavy Duty Cleaner), stock # T-230" (red paste in a white&red container) was applied by hand and used to remove about 85% of the silver paint. This also removed most of the oxidation on the hood, and about half of the oxidation on the roof. All the silver paint was removed from the hood, and about 70% was removed from the roof. (I'd like to get out a bit more of the silver paint, but can live with the current results if I must.)

Step 2: "Turtle Wax Polishing Compound (and Scratch Remover), stock # T-241" (white paste in a white&green container) was applied to the roof and hood of the car. This was done using a 1,500 RPM electric circular polisher with a 7" Wool Pad. However, the person who did this was only 'pulsing' the polisher and not running it at the full 1,500 RPMs. I would guess that they were maintaining a speed of about 250 to 400 RPMs on the motor. This was done in the shade with about 75 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit ambient temperature.

Step 3: !!!Stop!!! and evaluate... There are swirl marks in the hood. -lots of them. When I walk around the car in the sunlight, it looks like a multi-layered 3-D image due to all the moving swirl lines that are on the hood. It is bad enough that it looks almost like futuristic art is hovering over the hood of my car. The roof however is only half done, but there are no visible swirl marks in the areas that were done. Some paint still remains and varying shades of oxidation cover about half of the roof.

At this point, I've stopped further progress until I get some advice. I'm hoping that the insight of the Brickboard contributors can help and prevent me from making a mistake (if one hasn't been made already). I'd like to get the car to an even/uniform color and I want to do it the right way, rather than a cheap fix. What should I do from this point??? -a few options I have considered and some questions are listed below:

Course of Action (A): Purchase the Automagic BCI and BCII that they sell in IPD and use them to hopefully remove the remaining oxidation from the roof (BCI), and then buff out the car (BCII). -then followed by a separate wax...??? I'm new to this, please correct me if I'm assuming wrong. I'm also assuming that I can safely run these products at 1500 RPM.

Course of Action (B): (in alternative to action A mentioned above) Purchase some 3M products from my local Napa or 3M-Online while they have free shipping, and use them as per the directions. However, there are lots of choices and I'm not sure what one(s) to buy. Here's what's available that seems most relevant to the situation at hand:

#39001 "Imperial Microfinishing Rubbing Compound (Medium Cut)" Requires electric buffer and 3M Compounding Pad, not for hand use. Removes medium scratches and medium oxidation.
#39002 "Perfect-it II Rubbing Compound (Fine Cut)" Hand or Machine use, removes fine scratches, and medium oxidation. Leaves a fine finish.
#39003 "Finesse-it II Finishing Material Machine Polish" Removes minor scratches and leaves a deep wet-looking shine.
#39004 "Superduty Rubbing Compound (Heavy Cut)" -yeah, I'd rather not touch this unless advised to by a professional.
#39009 "Perfect-it Foam Polishing Pad Swirl Mark Remover" For dark colored vehicles, removes light surface imperfections, swirl marks, light oxidation and produces a deep rich, swirl-free finish. For hand or machine use, requires Foam Polishing Pad 05725.
#39006 "One-Step Cleaner Wax Light Oxidation Remover" Removes fine scratches, light oxidation, swirl marks, and stains. Leaves deep, rich luster and durable waxed finish.
#39066 "One-Step Cleaner Wax Medium Oxidation Remover" Rapidly cleans and removes most fine and medium scratches, medium oxidation. Leaves deep, rich luster and durable waxed finish.
#39026 "Perfect-It Show Car Liquid Wax" Shines/Protects new and like-new finishes. Deep, high gloss, durable wet look.
#06005 "Premium Liquid Wax" Use on all cured paint finishes. For use by hand or orbital polisher. High gloss, deep luster, durable finish on both new and used car paints.

On my way home today, I stopped by my local GM dealership that has an attached body shop. I asked one of the paint/polish techs to give me his opinion of the hood of my car (and I apologized to him that it wasn't my Pontiac that I had with me, -he didn't care). He only had a moment to talk since he was in the middle of a job, but after one look at the hood of my car, he advised me to buy the 3M #39009 "Foam Polishing Pad Swirl Mark Remover" (as mentioned above) and also the associated Foam Pad required for it (# 05725).

Now, with that info in mind, I'm wondering if I should perform the following steps using the 3M system (please voice your opinions and suggestions):
Step 1. #39002 or #39001 Rubbing Compound on the roof of the car. (I don't know which one to use. My oxidation isn't terrible/bad but there's a decent amount of it. I'm leaning towards the 39002 Fine Cut rubbing compound, but I've got no experience and it's only a hunch.) -or maybe #39066 One-Step Cleaner Wax Medium Oxidation Remover?
Step 2. #39009 Foam Polishing Pad Swirl Mark Remover, on both the hood and the roof.
Step 3. Wax of some sort... What should I use? At this point I'll have put a lot of work into the finish and would like to use a product that will protect my invested time. Turtle Wax Hard Shell? The 3M Premium Liquid Wax 06005? The 3M One-Step Cleaner/Wax 39006? Finishing Material Polish 39003? Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long narrative and list of available products, but I wanted to cover all the bases and hopefully some of you on the board will have experience with these products and can advise me of the best course of action. I haven't ruled out the AutoMagic BC I and II, but the advise from the body shop tech has me leaning towards the 3M system. Maybe the swirl marks are supposed to appear and then disappear with regular buffing/polishing? I've got no clue...

Lastly, I saw in a post by "Detailer" some time ago that he recommended Mothers & Meguiars. I'll mention these two products that I have access to:
*** "Mothers Pre-Wax Cleaner" removes oxidation and wax, and can be used by hand or high-speed.
*** "Meguiars Mirror Glaze / Professional Show Car Glaze 7" Polish for a deep gloss shine, apply by hand, orbital buffer, or DA polisher.
(I'm interested if these products will work with the wool pad I have, or do I need to buy a different one? The Mothers/Meguiars products would cost me about 1/4 of the cost of the 3M products if they will work at my current state.)

For those of you who are interested in more info/prices on the 3M system, you can check out their website at:
http://www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_Main.Entry?SP=10007&SID=28181&CID=0&CUR=840

God bless, and again I apologize for the long narrative.
Fitz Fitzgerald.
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'87 Blue 245, NA 223K