I bought a 10" random orbital buffer months ago and finally used it. Jesus christ these make the work easy! I had the FD color sanded after the carport vs. roof incident and just waxed it a few days ago with Mothers liquid wax. Start to finish in under an hour (much of that spent waiting for the wax to dry so I could buff it!) and the car looks beautiful. Can't beat it. I'll certainly wax the car more often now since it's so easy.

 

what kind of pads? Wool?

 

For applying the wax I used an applicator pad. Basically a thick cotton sock; no real nap on it. For buffing I used a wool pad that was fairly thick, resembled a wool car wash mit.

 

If you can afford it, pick up a Porter Cable 7424:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

 

Never occurred to me to use a DA sander on the car (at least for polishing) ... Going to try it.