restoring car finishes

[ken k]

Howdy fello tubenetters!

I remember a few of youz guyz talking in Schlepp's "Playing with plexiglas" thread that you are in the auto repair field so I thought I might pick your brain's a little bit (or anyone else who doesn't mind having your brain picked)

I have a dark green 2000 Ford Escort ZX2 (my little turtle) and the horizontal surfaces are getting pretty hazy/cloudy. There are water marks, bird dropping stains, and othere various imperfections in the finish that are making it look pretty bad and can not be washed off. since I will be driving this car for the forseeable future (I have two kiddies in HS who will be entering college in the coming years) I would like to keep it looking snazzy (as snazzy as an 8 year old escort can look anyway) I am not looking to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear (I have always wanted to say that....)

So far I have been using Kit brand scratch and haze remover with a Mother's brand polishing ball that you put in a variable speed drill. After about 5 applications on the hood it finally looks decent again. The roof was much worse and after two shots it still is pretty bad. In fact might be getting worse! Is there a better product I can use? I would imagine the clear coat is gon by this time? i don't know.

Also you guys talked about a headlight restoring kit. Any recommendation would be greatly appreciated.

I will take a few pix and see if I can get them online.

ken k