Buffing polishing advise needed

Before you dive in, you didn't mention the type of paint in terms of being a metallic or non-metallic. If it's a metallic you CANT color sand single stage paint, only buff. You have to make sure it is a buffer that you use, they look like a grinder but spin a lot slower. The problem with those 2 handed jobbies is they don't spin quite fast enough. If your paint looks hazey it's the fine sand scratches, you haven't buffed them out. The risk of burn through isn't as great as you think as long as you have enough coats on and you keep the buffer moving. Keep the buffer flat, don't tip it up on end to use an edge, that's a no no. I sand with 1200, 1500 and finish with 2000 before buffing. You can start with 1500 if you're nervous and like I said it's edges and peaks that burn through in a heart beat. The amount of paint on an edge or a peak is significantly less than a flat surface so that compounds the risk, tape off about an 1/8" from the edge to be safe. Color sanding is a bit of a ***** by hand, I have a Quicksander, it's a DA sander that squirts soapy water while you sand, makes life a lot easier.