Hold off on the wetsanding. Try some sort of light-abrasive cleaner, like Meguiar's #2 Fine Cut Cleaner. It uses a combination of chemical and abrasive cleaners to remove any residue, and a very small amount of the paint.

As stated above, if the cloth turns the color of your car, it has a "single stage" finish. It is a unrethane enamel paint that is similar to what you'd get in a high-gloss rattle can, in that it does not require the application of a clearcoat to achieve a high luster.

You have no idea how much paint is left on this car. It has probably been buffed-out several times over the past 20 years. If you attack it with sandpaper - even something as fine as 2000 grit - chances are quite high you'll sand through the clear/color and have a patch of basecoat/primer showing. Also, because the paint is COMPLETELY CURED (i.e. very hard) it will be extremely difficult to polish the sanding scratches out.

If we're talking about a W124 car, it is probably basecoat-clearcoat (a two-stage finish), but the LIGHT polish test will tell you for sure....

Jay.

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On the road, currently:
'83 300D (German spec.) 168k mi. - - Wolfgang (tucked snugly away for the winter!)
'87 300D 375k mi. - finally went over to "The Dark Side"
'87 300TD 225k mi.
Cannondale 66cm CAAD5 w/Campy/Jamis Aurora
Hujsak Custom Fixie/Landshark Track Shark Custom/Ahearne Custom 29'er