Compound Polishing A Car??

My son's car is looking a little dull after sitting outside for the past several years. This weekend, we want to give it a good wash and wax. My question is, can you compound a car clear coat finish like you can a boats gelcoat? We don't want to waste our time waxing if it will still look dull underneath. Any good products to recommend?

Thanks!

You can do some serious damage real quick on a car's paint. Gelcoat is MUCH more forgiving with a rotary. My suggestion is to use a fine grit rubbing compound by hand first, and if that is doing the job, follow with a polishing compound, then wax. Using a rotary on a basecoat/clearcoat paintjob is risky business unless you know what you're doing.
   A good thing to do before you even start with the compounding is to wash it REAL good, then clay-bar it to remove all the contaminants. Then move to the compounding.