Dependent upon your vehicle's paint, you will have to adjust your polisher speed, hand speed and hand pressure if using a machine. It may take several tries to get the perfect finish of your liking. Try taping your hood into sections big enough to test. I will usually do 4 or 6 different sections depending on the size of the hood. With each different section adjust your technique a little. At the end of your trial and error period, untape and stand back to see what section suits your needs. You will then know what technique to use. Do the whole vehicle with that technique. Then apply a THIN layer of your gold class (which is also one of my go to's). I recommend using a good quality quick detailer to wipe your paint down after wax removal. Meg's ultimate quick detailer is a good, cost effective qd. And can be found otc. Any other question's just let me know if I can be of any assistance.