Yeah the wet rag trick never worked for me on my car's clear coat. I used a bottle of Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and a microfiber pad instead, took the texture right down. What kind of surface are you working on?
Wait, your dad actually tried the wet rag thing on orange peel? That's wild. I've only ever seen that make it worse, like it just smears the clear around. Did it leave any haze or weird marks after it dried?