Welcome to AG!!
You should read through all those articles they will answer a lot of questions for you and explain lots. If your just starting out a DA polisher is safe and easy to use as stated before
+1 on this--it's important for you to read the info Bobby posted. Everything you are asking has been posted before and 99% of you questions will be answered reading the material posted above.
That being said a "Buffer" is usually what you find at Wallyworld or Kmart for $15 - $20. You don't want or need one of these as they are very underpowered and can't be used for any serios polishing.
In a nutshell what you want is a Random Orbital, Variable Speed Polisher. The Porter Cable, Groits Garage and Megs unit are all RO, VS Polishers around $110 to $150-any of these are great to start with and safe for your paint. There is also the Rupes ($350-400) which is a RO, VS Polisher, but with a larger orbit and the Flex ($350) which also has forced rotation.
You need a backing plate--they all come with a 6" BP for 6.5" pads, but you may as well start off buying a 5" plate as most will recommend using this smaller size for 5.5" pads which are easier to use and offer better correction capabilities (especially with the Porter Cable) Also, 5.5" pads are less expensive.
You need foam pads. IMO at least 10 to start. 4 heavier correction pads--usually yellow or orange, 4 polishing pads usually white, green or blue and a couple of red or black soft pads--one for each wax or sealant you plan to use. There are also microfiber pads but let's keep it simple for now.
You need a compound for heavier correction, a polish for lighter correction and perhaps a finish polish if your car has very soft paint.
You need allot of microfiber towels for removing polish.
This should get you started and some reading will make it even more clear. Good Luck!!
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