Total Novice needs advice

[freerider]

Big Guy, Welcome to the forum! nice to have you on board.

Adding to what carn said, many of the people who post in the show and shine section, list all the products used and normally the order in which they where used.

I think Carn may have forgotten to add clay to his list.

The basic/intermediate process you should start with is probably:

Wash (get a decent wash)
Dry (again waffle weave drying towels are excellent - 1 towel generally dries the entire car)
clay (this process removes all the bonded contaminants from the surface of your car)
Polish (a great way to revive your cars paint)
Wax (seals the paint and provides protection against the elements)

the following is an excellent guide that Carn posted
http://www.waxon.co.za/showthread.php?tid=68

Don