It's been a few months since my last post but i'm still here and still at it.
I touched up the burn-through on the hood and applied a few more coats of clear shortly after my last post:
After that, it felt like wet sanding took foreeeeeeeverrrrrr........
After cutting the clear flat with 1000 grit on the plexiglass block, I followed with 1500 and 2000 on a soft block switching directions each grit so I could make sure all the previous scratches were gone. I went through a lot of trial and error and had scratches come back and bite me in the arse which is why this took longer than it should have. I found sanding in the sunlight was a lifesaver as the sun really makes the scratches dance and easy to see when sighting down a panel in different directions in the sunlight.
Finished up with 3000 Trizact although that proved to be an issue for me. I did the trizact on a DA but it seemed to just polish the surface and didn't really cut the 2000 scratches. I only realized this after I finished the whole car and went back and did the trizact by hand on a soft block. That finally worked....
Taking Jim C's recommendation, I went with the 3D ACA 500 compound followed by the 3D ACA 520 polish. I liked them very much (although not much to compare them to in my limited experience). I started with wool but didn't like it much. It's aggressive and takes the scratches out quickly however, I found using a yellow hex-logic pad cut just as quickly, left fewer holograms and -because it's a stiff foam- I was able to do just about every detail on this car with a 6.5 inch pad and not burn an edge (.....not that I didn't have a few boo-boo's, of course.
). For the really tight spots, I used a 2-inch orange foam pad on the rotary with a 2-inch extension.
On the left, 3000 Trizact and on the right, 3D ACA 500 with yellow hex-logic pad (6.5 inch) at 1600 RPM:
Finished with the 3D ACA 520 polish using a black foam pad per the instructions. I found I really had to work it quite a bit to get out all the holograms from the previous step. I changed to a white foam pad and BOOM!....success. The white foam pad (Lake Country CCS 6.5 inch) really took it to the next level and polished out the holograms quickly leaving a brilliant finish. Once the car is back together, i'll likely follow up with the ACA 520 on a black pad for final polish.
Hood completed with ACA 520 on a Lake Country CCS White Foam pad at 1000 RPM:
I think you can tell i'm pretty happy with the results.