To the OP:
I'm new to the detail enthusiast scene, as well. I have read a ton of information about detailing, and my process (which is very easy for us new folk) is as follows:
Using Porter Cable 7424 Polisher...
1. Wash and dry car. I use Zaino's car wash.
2. Clay car. I use Zaino's clay and Z-6 for this step.
3. On areas where you have significant scratches, swirls, marring, etc. (for me this was the roof, hood and trunk), Use Menzerna Intensive Polish with a Lake Country Orange pad.
4. Polish the entire vehicle with Menzerna Final Polish II with a Lake Country White pad. How the car looks after this step is going to determine how the car looks after applying the final polish, so make sure that it is flawless; go back over any areas that need additional attention with the appropriate pad and polish. Make sure that ALL traces of polish are removed from the car before continuing to next step, as it will prevent your Last Step Process (LSP) from adhering correctly. If you have to go back over any portion of the vehicle again with Intensive Polish, make sure you also do that same portion again with Final Polish II.
5. Four coats of Z-2 hand applied, with the ZFX accelerator added. Some people will tell you to wipe the entire car down with Z6 between coats, but I have had great results without the Z6 between.
Using this process my car looks unbelieveable. I had tried using the Porter Cable with Zaino PC Fusion with undesirable results. The Menzerna process above, however, gave me a show car shine.
There are literally HUNDREDS of different processes using hundreds of different products, ranging from very easy to insanely hard. IMO, the process above is very easy for us beginners, and you run very little risk of damaging your car's finish. About the only step where you could do some damage is with the Intensive Polish, but that's only if you're really ham-fisted wth the polisher.
Oh, and you WILL need a polisher to achieve the results you really want. There is simply no way your hands are capable of producing the amount of work required to obtain show car results. A Porter Cable 7424 performs as much work in one minute as your hands could do in about one hour. From there, just do the math. : )
Prior to buying my Porter Cable, I had been using a Sears orbital polisher. Do yourself a favor, and buy the correct polisher. : ) From personal experience, I can tell you that the PC 7424 is awesome for us new guys. I'm sure there are other equally good or better polishers out there, but I honestly believe you can't go wrong with the PC.
There are many, many sources of information that can give you additional info, help, techniques, etc. about how to correctly perform the above steps. Spend a few hours surfing the net, reading up from as many sources as you can find about how to correctly perform each step. Then, go grab your PC, and have fun! It's so addicting...I'm gonna go detail my newphew's badly scratched black Jeep just for ( I can't believe I'm saying this) "Fun".
Edit: the above process won't correct deep scratches, etched water spots, or other serious paint problems, but it will make them look much better. Correcting hard stuff like this is best left to the pros.
