What's your favorite polish?

[Perfectlap]

Clay bar, and a decent swirl remover will make any polish and wax like Turtle Wax from Wal-Mart look nearly identical to any overpriced boutique brand multi step product line.
The only caveat is the amount of carnauba in your wax. But even that is a stretch because a well maintained surface does not need all that much carnauba your basic retail wax will git er done. What you should be spending your money on is the highest quality towels that you can get your hands on to keep the swirls and clear coat wear to a minimum.

Everyone has their favorite brands and products for ease of use and durability myself included. But don't buy into the hype of expensive vs cheap retail. It takes an extremely well trained eye to tell a Turtle Wax car from a Zaino car (just as an example) if both have had the same prep. Believe me (hmmm who says that a lot?) I have tried them all, the "core" ingredients are nearly the same in all no matter the price. There are a few products that do have some proprietary ingredients but we're talking a handful in a sea of hundreds of products.

[paulb]

I had to do paint correction on swirled oxidised water spotted dull paint this spring & am really happy with my results. I basically used griots complete coumpound & a porter cable dual action polisher for correction & then klasse all in one paint sealant topped with p21s carnuba wax. after that work when it gets dirty a little water & meguires car wash soap & it looks as good as the day I did all the work

Porsche paint can apparently be pretty tricky.

If your interested detail & before/after pics of my project can be found here

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/108548-help-me-fix-my-black-2004-porsche-paint-pictures.html

[rick3000]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

What you should be spending your money on is the highest quality towels that you can get your hands on to keep the swirls and clear coat wear to a minimum.

100% Agree, although I don't think a towel will wear clear coat.

If you are using anything other than microfiber, stop right now and go buy some microfiber towels. I recently discovered The Rag Company (no affiliation), their microfiber is much more reasonably priced than other car care stores, and the quality is top notch. I have spent more than I care to admit buying microfiber towels, but I think it makes a big difference. Also, never mix wheel/engine towels and drying/paint towels.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by rick3000

100% Agree, although I don't think a towel will wear clear coat..

A brand new right out of the bag microfiber towel?
Indeed it will not swirl the clear coat.

The problem is that those prickly hooks are extremely stubborn at releasing what they pick up once soiled. The reality is that 99% of auto store microfiber towels are nothing more than rebranded janitorial towels used to clean floors. That is insane overkill for a well maintained surface like an enthusiast car.
There are microfiber towels specifically made for expensive car paints, like the Griot's Garage high loft green towels. My experience is that a quality detailing towel is rarely sold for less than $4-5 per towel. If it comes in 40 pack for $20 at Costco or Wal-Mart don't use these more than once in the paint unless you run them at least 3 times in the wash on the hot setting with a very aggressive detergent.