I love it when the manufacturer and/or company selling a product doesn't care enough to properly package the item for shipping. I'm surprised it made it in one piece!!
Looks great - don't believe I've seen a blue one like that. Of course, I haven't seen any in quite awhile. The car is based on a Corvette chassis with a different body and motor. How long was the whole job? 6-8 hours?
Sure looks like an older model of the one I had. The thing is a workhorse, slow by today's standards but pretty quiet, heavy and swung a big pad 10-12 inches. You can build up your upper body using that on the side of a pick up bed!!
You may want to start with 600 or less depending on scratches and work your way up. Very dusty - hook up a vacuum. Finish off with compound/polish depending on level of gloss. Matte finish can be obtained using a scotch brite pad (don't need to go through all the polishing steps).
What product do you like better? Does one work better for the salt? I gotta tell you, I've never washed a car that dirty with rinseless without first going to a coin-op car wash and spraying it off first. No issues??