Well, I appreciate the responses of course. And they are to some extent what I expected. I want to know, as you asked, whether a car could be safely buffed given the tool and product I mentioned, say three or four times over a ten year period, once a year, once every two years or whatever.
While I do try and minimize swirl marks and other defects, I have never found it possible to completely be free of them over time. But perhaps that is my fault.
I have seen extensive threads and posts concerning themselves with buffing tools and products, techniques and benefits of buffing. However, if a car can be buffed only once in its lifetime, perhaps the average person simply attempting to make the most of their daily driver would be better served to leave the swirl marks and not make any such purchases when it comes to buffer and related products.
Now if a car could be safely buffed several times, again with the buffer and products I mentioned, and if the average person just wanted to do the best they could to keep their car looking as good as they can for as long as they can, then the purchase of a buffer, pads and products could be justified.
So that is a little more of what I was after in asking my question. And for all I know, there are those out there that have driven a car for ten years or more, have buffed it with a PC and have done so once every year with no ill effect. Granted, there are as you say so many variables, so there would be no safe bet in that, but it would offer something - to me anyway.
