I can't imagine what happened to your clear coat. I buffed my car with a more aggresive white pad on the sides, and the orange pad on the roof, hood, and trunk. My car is an 08 and was pretty neglected before I got it, it actually turned out pretty decent. Good luck with the repairs. Here's mine, Harbor Freight DA polisher, pads from Detailers Domain, and Meguiars 105,205, and Tech Wax.

 

The badges have been off for months. I polished the trunk a few weeks ago and it was fine. Still had a few scratches so I wanted to polish it again. That's when this happened. One painter looked at it today and he doesn't think it's through the clear coat. He wants to wet sand it and buff it. I guess it's worth a shot. Sure can't hurt.....

 

It's good to hear there are painters still willing to try to save customers money by trying to buff things out first before painting. I always offered that first before going the repaint route. Most of the time the polishing would work. I hope this is the case for you too.......good luck!

 

Thanks ya Big Lug!