wet sanding

Extremely fine sand paper, water and dish soap.. not for the faint of heart and yes it does remove product that cannot be replaced.. unless you spray it in a very cumbersome process… when done correctly it can fix some small and even some slightly larger defects if in the right places and in the right colors.. it will bring a gloss to a dull finish if there is enough finish to bring back.. keep things clean go easy and test it as you go and buff at a very slow speed unless you have done it before.. stay off the high ridges and get yourself some machine compound, machine glaze and hand glaze with some 1000 and 1500 wet paper maybe even 2000 grit…

That all depends on how much product they took off.. It is all about UV protection.. the more you take off the quicker the remaining product will dull up again (Chaulk) or in very bad situations start peeling.. if the shop can tell you how aggressive they were that would be a start at least they are aware of the amount of product they are removing at that point…

Yea it has many names.. in fact today you can do it dry with a orbital sander if you know what you are doing.. many variations..

I echo everything Mark says as far as the process …. But would add that I use a white waffle pad (for compound) and a grey waffle pad for polishing. I believe Ive tried them all and personally, I prefer Meguirs 105 Ultra-cut compound on the white waffle pad, followed with Meguirs 205 Ultra Finishing Polish. I follow it all up with Hand applying Meguirs Ultimate Paste Wax in a back and forth motion.Ive had two 93 P2s in past year and did them both and it made them both look like totally different boats. It was obvious that both boats were different as far as how much clear Gelcoat was left that I could work with before starting the process. I have did this to most all my vehicles also. I will say, Gelcoat is much more forgiving than factory Auto paint finishes. My 96 Ford F250 in the gallery here gets a lot of compliments and people asking how I get it to shine like it does, being 16 years old… And its because Ive did this process 3 different times in the trucks life. And truth is; there isnt much left, and it cannot stand much Sunlight because of it. Point being… Anytime you sand and buff, your taking away durability of sunlight and other elements, so protectant has to be applied more often. I would add, having done paint and body work for 35 years, everybody does things a little different, but the process in doing it is pretty much the same. Its all in what works best to your liking, but GO SLOW and TEST frequently and YOU can do it, rather than paying somebody big bucks to do it for you.