I don't believe it's under the clear as the scratch did get slightly better, but still noticeable. It is my own vehicle. I've only owned it for four months but all of the paint appears orignal (same color and tint, same amount of orange peel). I have operated rotary polishers before, I just dont own one. Which is why I borrowed the 3" snap on polisher. I figured perhaps the rotaty action would work better with the compound rather than the DA of the PC.