Hi Herman, it all depends on the amount of money one is prepared to spend.
Firstly, for those on a budget the kit in the following link is extremely good value. At $299.95 it includes a Dual Action Polishing Machine, 4 Lake Country Buffing Pads, 3 different Menzerna Polishes and Menzerna Sealant all in a carry bag. Waxit are very customer focused and fast to deliver. Link -
http://www.waxit.com.au/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=462&category_id=87&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1In addition to the above, you should also clay the car before polishing. Here is a Link to a good value Clay and Lube from Chemical Guys -
http://www.chemguys.com.au/Gray_Light_Duty_209_Gram_Auto_Detail_Clay_Bar_p/cly_kit_2.htmA supply of clean Microfibre cloths is essential. Link -
http://www.chemguys.com.au/Microfiber_towel_p/mic_333_6.htmWe buy packs of 25 Microfibre cloths from supercheap. The orange ones which are often on sale for around $30. The quality of these is not as good as the cloths in the Chemical Guys link, but it does not matter to us because our cloths tend to go walkabout. The factory boys use them to clean mirrors and the car factory use them for anything!
If you want to get straight into top of the line equipment, buy a Flex from overseas which will cost about $480 delivered. Link -
http://www.toolking.com/flex-xc3401vrgcee-variable-speed-dual-action-orbital-polisher-230-volt#The Menzerna Polish can be bought from Waxit.com.au in a 4 polish sample pack for $50. Pads can be purchased locally from Chemical Guys. i would suggest 2 of each in Orange, White and Black.
I am currently putting a budget pack together with the intention of making it even cheaper. Did you see the Link to the Chinese dual Action Machine for $116.53 plus postage? Add the Menzerna 4 pack sampler for $50. Pads are included with the machine. So for under $200 you can get cracking. Only kicker is i have not tried the machine yet. They will arrive in about 10 working days.
Edit. I am a big fan of Menzerna Polishes. For my purpose, buffing cars which have mostly had recent paint jobs Menzerna is superb. There are a lot of other polishes which can be used. A popular low cost polish is Autoglym Super Resin Polish, and there are also a couple of Meguiars which are pretty good. Came across the following Thread on the Detail Paradise Forum where a chap used this combo on an older Commodore ute. Check it out -
http://www.detailparadise.com.au/showthread.php?8779-Old-And-Simple-But-Bloody-EffectiveRocket.