I know Primera Man has a nice polishing how to, but I've been using a product called Scratch X by Meguiars. It's about $8 and can be found at Wal-Mart, Target, and auto supply stores. It's too simple simple to use you won't belive your eyes.
You will need some wet/dry sandpaper, a cotton t-shirt, some cotton swabs for the hard to reach areas, and Scratch X.
First, select a victim with some orange peel.
Level any orange peel lightly by wet sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper. If it's a little heavy I'll start with 1500 and then 2000.
In this pic the hood, nose and fenders have been wetsanded, and the grit washed away with some dishsoap and water.
Now that we have a smooth, but scratched surface it's time for some Scratch X. A little bit goes a long way. Use very little to achieve the best results.
Put a little bit on your rag and use small circular motions. Medium pressure is all you'll need. You will start to feel the shine under your finger as you rub.
As you get a bit of a shine, switch to a clean part of the rag and buff it a bit. Rub some on..Buff it off.. and repeat until you get a nice shine.
In this pic I have rubbed and buffed the lower 3/4's of the hood.
You may find that after polishing it up you have to go back to your sandpaper and level an area some more. Just repeat the steps until you get a nice smooth shiny surface.
It will take some trial and error, but once you figure out it really makes polishing fun!
