i know everybody warns you not to do this but i did. well not purposly. i burned thru on the ridge down the center of the header panel (on a 68 of course). what is the best way to fix this?

Blend and reclear thepanel.

There is no other way to fix it other than refinishing the header. At least if you are going to do it right. Wet sand the header with 400, mask off the header, seal it and reshoot it. I`ve wetsanded and polished quite a few cars and i never sand or polish the edges or ridges. As you get near the ridge with your paper, lighten your pressure until you are basically applying no pressure at the ridge. Use the same principal with your polisher. You`ll never notice the difference in the finish, other than you won`t have to go through this again. Cheers!