On the topic of things not to do, when you reach the buffing stage, Do Not make the mistake of leaving the buffer sitting on any part of the car overnight.
I forgot about leaving mine on the unbuffed half of the hood last night, and found a huge lightened circle on the hood where the wet pad had sat.
Fortunately, mineral spirits seemed to clear the blotch up, and it has since returned to its darker color. Makes me wonder if the white haze after polishing might be water forced into the paint by the buffer. Just for kicks, I'm getting some new terry cloths and I'm going to try buffing using spirits. One kind for the buffer and one kind for the operator
I'll post my results at a later date.