mechanical vs chemical

[III]

Could someone explain the differences? By mechanical, does that mean a little bit of clear coat is being removed to remove surface defects like swirls?
By chemical, does this mean that surface defects like scratches can`t be removed and this is only good for removing stains, and oxidation?

[TraderB]

Here I am answering a question without a clear idea myself but being that you posted over 8 hrs ago and there are no replys here goes. A mechanical polish likely has an abrasive and a chemical one does not. It seems inevitable that an abrasive will remove a little to a lot of the surface. But it is also seems possible that a chemical could do that too but don`t know if that is the case in polishes. I suspect that chemical polishes primarily remove surface oxidation and bonded contaminates and some perhaps contain fillers also.

[usdm]

That`s pretty much the idea. Modern compounds and
polishes (at least the quality ones), utilize diminishing
abrassive technologies. This allows for an initial bite.
Then as weight of the buffing pad on the surface and/
or heat breaks down the compounds, it begins to polish
out it`s own haze.