Cam's pretty well spot on with it all.

AUTO DETAILING VIDEOS - YouTube < for some really good detailing video's/how-to's

Also for the regular washes, pick up a quick detail spray. 'Fine mist' each panel and buff with microfibre cloth AFTER drying the car down. This removes any water spots/remaining residue and leaves a perfectly clean panel. Helps to reduce any contamination to the paint.

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The general rule of thumb is if you can feel the scratch with your fingernail, it's generally too deep and won't be able to be polished out.

Meguiars ScratchX is fantastic when used by hand (one of the only polishes that I would recommend using by hand) and ideal for that exact situation. I still have close friends that prefer to do their cars with the ScratchX than let me run over it with the buffer.

There's 3 types of sealants/waxes that you get obtain, all of which give different protection/results.

Paint sealant: Hard wearing (8-12months) of protection, minimal additional shine but fantastic at forming a barrier on the paintwork. Ideal to do before a wax.

Cream/paste wax: Usually contains a mixture of fillers/carnauba wax. Ideal for giving a great finish with solid protection - usually lasts 3-6 months

Hard wax: Usually contains a much higher % of carnauba. Gives the most amount of shine possible with a high amount of protection. NOT long lasting will deteriorate in 4-12 weeks.

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