Eliminate dry water marks before ceramic coating
 

I just bought my car. Before I ceramic coat it I want to get rid of some dry water marks that don't come off when washing.
I want to give it a light polish before coating it to get rid of a few swirls and these marks.
Can you recommend what to use? What polishing compound, and what to look for when buying a machine buffer.

I used Sonax Perfect Finish to make sure my clear coat was as good as it can be prior to ceramic coating. Autopia has a bunch of good buffers from Rupes, Griots Garage, etc.

Apex Detail has a great channel on Youtube to give you some ideas. However, I used Sonax Perfect Finish and 3D One, numerous white and orange Lake Country pads, Buff and Shine Eurofiber pads, Flex 3401 polisher, Griots G9 and GR3 polishers. Severity of your swirls and other paint defects will determine which pad you need and panel size will determine your pad sizes. Good luck.

Thanks for your help.
At what stage should I fix any rock chips? Before or after polishing?

Definitely before as the chip pits will fill in with polish and wax and will not allow touch-up paint to adhere properly.