See I don't necessarily agree with you guys about the electronic buffing stuff. I had mine professionally detailed down in Pensacola & yeah it took out the swirl marks & minor scratches really well, however, it made the cracks in the paint (like where bird poop or something had been int he past--looks like ice when it is cracked), deep scratches, and chips stand out wayyyyyy more! Some of the cracks I didn't even see until after it was buffed. Dark cars are just a pita period unless you get them repainted & never take them out of the garage lol I sent him a PM of the process I take to help cover up the scratches & what not for shows so that should help for now

 

Any damage that is through the clear coat is impossible to buff out. If you have deep scratches or stone chips, the only way to remove them is feathering them out and priming and painting. If I were you I would fill the chips with touch up paint and detail everything else. Any good body shop or detailer should be able to get good results out of your stock paint with buffing and polishing and a good coat of wax. I like to use a wool pad on the buffer with 3M perfect-it compound. Then I actually use the same compound on a foam pad. Then afterwards I will hit it with Meguiars #7 glaze on a super soft foam pad. I finish up with a good coat of wax.

 

I'm not a huge user of a buffer. I usually just use it on my hood and roof. Sometimes not at all. Even in a garage, dark paint gets dusty lol. My '48 Plymouth is DARK blue...just as bad as black. And it's got the original paint too, so it doesn't have the nicest finish in some places lol.