Preparation of the surface is the key to any detail job. My order of paint prep is as follows:
1. If doing a ground up paint correction, I first wash the surface with Dawn dish soap, besides thoroughly cleaning it also removes the old wax,sealants, etc from the paint.
2. Evaluate the paint for swirls, marring or scratches. If the paint still feels rough using the "baggie test" (place hand in a plastic bag and run your hand over the paint) it should slide effortlessly without any drag. If it is smooth you can move onto step #4, otherwise see step#3.
3. Using a quick detailer, or even a quality car wash as lubricant use a clay bar over the entire painted surface. This will remove the fine embedded dirt and contaminates from your paint. You will be amazed how much junk is still removed after washing alone. Rinse after the clay bar treatment and dry.
4. You've already evaluated the surface for defects, if you have defects in the paint now is when you can polish the paint using a light or heavy compound to remove those defects. If you have a random orbital the process is easier and faster, but it can be done by hand.
Some people use a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water lightly misted on the compounded surface and then wiped off to remove the oils from compounding. It's an added step, but not totally necessary to the finished product.
5. Now you are ready to wax or add a sealant, which is your choice. I prefer a quality wax that doesn't leave a dust and removes easily. For a car that see's a fair amount of driving and outside exposure I like the Collinite 845 wax. It works very well on any color paint, doesn't cost a fortune and lasts for month's. Have fun, take your time and you will be pleased with your work. I've added a link covering the use of Collinite wax, plus the same site has lot's of tutorials on the whole detailing process.
https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ndary-wax.html