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As per Niblick above, you haven't provided nearly enough information for anyone to make an informed recommendation: What is the car in question? How serious are paint defects, describe? What are you using for a machine and pads?

For really hard paint try Meguiar's M100 Pro Speed or M101 Foam Cut but be careful. Per Bob's excellent advice try some much less aggressive polishes first, these should be your last resort.

The truck looks great, Al. Nice job. I'm afraid my impressions of BlackICE aren't far removed from those of Swanicyouth. I greatly appreciate the generous sample you provided but I didn't love the product, especially price considered. Neither of the vehicles I've used it on were great...

I have Hydro Max but I haven't used it yet. I'll be interested to read any follow up comments you post on durability. Hydro Seal far out performed my expectations in that regard. I used it last fall as the winter LSP on my wife's car and to my great surprise it was still beading on all...

It depends on how much correction you need and which polish you are using. I primarily use the Buff & Shine pads in Green, Blue or Black but I also keep some LC Hydro Tech (7/8") Crimson pads and regular LC flat pads around. Personally, I don't like the CCS pads.

You absolutely can clay Opti-Coat, although I wouldn't recommend an extremely aggressive clay or clay substitute, and you might want to consider something like Iron-X too. The next step more aggressive would be Optimum Poli-Seal with a very light polishing or finishing pad. I would definitely...

First the disclaimer: I'm strictly an amateur and the pros probably do as many corrections in a week or two as I do in a year. I do, however, mostly work on soft paint Japanese cars. So far, I've never run into a situation that called for MF pads on a Japanese car, something like a GMC truck is...

Definitely 915 on the dark green Ford truck, it does give some depth and wet look. The white Tahoe is a trickier question, I'm inclined to say 845 but while it is very glossy I don't find it particularly wet or deep looking. Darker colors tend to show off apparent wetness and depth more than...

Lots of good options, it all depends on what you want: Speed and ease of application - Optimum Opti-Seal Looks - Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection or Blackfire Wet Diamond Longevity - Duragloss 105 + 601 The truth be told all of the above look good and are fairly easy to apply. If I may...

Just my opinion but if you're looking at a pressure washer for detailing applications I'd pay more attention to flow volume (GPM) rather than PSI. IMO 1400 PSI is plenty but 1.25 or 1.3 GPM is very marginal. Personally, I'd try to get close to 2.0 GPM, 1.5 GPM as a bare minimum.

A great deal of this comes down to personal preference but speaking only for myself I'm not a fan of Chemical Guys products or their marketing strategy. I think there are better performing products out there for less money especially if you jump on the periodic 15% - 20% off plus free shipping...

This is good advice. It will only cost you $40.00* or less to get your water tested. If you're drinking, cooking and bathing in that water as well as washing your car you probably ought to know what is in it. I've used Ward Labs out of Nebraska, they're fast and were cheaper than my in-state...

That isn't an easy question to answer. Certainly more than 20 brands/labels of coatings are marketed but it isn't at all clear how much of that is just relabeling. What constitutes "available" is another issue as the greatest number of them are produced and sold in East Asia and have no formal...

Personally, I'd trust the person that is actually a chemist on what is safe for paint as opposed to anecdotal accounts. Assuming you really need to use something like Xylene to remove this I definitely wouldn't low bid this. I would only do this outdoors unless you have a kick ass ventilation...

Between those two coatings CQuartz all the way. When C1 was updated to what is referred to as C1+ on the UK forums they made it easier to apply but less durable. There are lots of coatings on the market these days with different pros and cons. Gtechniq C1 would not be on my short list if I was...

This! Just be sure to rinse thoroughly after using either one. I use two passes with a MF towel just dampened with water followed by a dry towel.

I think you'd do better to ask Optimum that question rather than asking here but IIRC Optimum recommends Poli-Seal for "refreshing" Opti-Coat. Poli-Seal contains chemical paint cleaners and, I believe, some very mild abrasives. I would probably just use a no cut finishing pad but again I'd ask...

It is very versatile but the liquid phase is probably my favorite, it makes beer possible.

Water

Raven, who posts under that moniker on several forums, is from Northern Australia and he seems to much prefer regular CQ to CQ UK for ease of application. Several of the coatings, not limited to CarPro products, flash too quickly in his climate unless the person applying is followed immediately...