Maybe you have posted it somewhere else but it depends what machine you have. If it is a DA (CYC or Kestral Das 6, Meguiars G220) then you want to be putting enough pressure on the machine that the pads rotation is about 1 or 2 rpm. A good way to work this is out is draw a line on the backing plate and you will be able to count from that. Rotaries require less pressure though, when heavy compounding you will need to add some pressure but not a lot. I have no experience with the forced DA's so can't answer about them.
Heavy compounding could be completed in a few minutes, generally you want to move the machine at around 1" per second, overlapping each pass by 50% and alternating direction (first up/down, second left/right).
If you think you are doing it wrong, there are some good videos on how to do it, especially Junkmans series. He talks a lot but does give a lot of information on polishing using a DA.
Regarding the holograms though, all they are very tiny scratches the polish has left in the paint. They are easily removed though through using a finishing pad and finishing polish. Usually finishing polishes have a longer set time than a compounding one though so the second polishing stage may take longer.
