Boy, I hesitate to admit this here, but ... I have a 2000 MY truck (Ford Wedgewood blue) that has been washed sparingly and NEVER waxed to date. But, now I'm considering cleaning it up. What I would normally do is wash it, dry it and wax it. After reading thru this forum, I can't believe all the details and products used on vehicles. What's the difference between polish and wax? Do you use them both? I'm obviously not a detail guy. I run mine in the dirt/mud/farm and hope for the next rainstorm to get the free wash job. Anyway, don't hate me ... just looking for a simple writeup on the steps to make this thing shiny. Why? (might be up for sale/trade-in soon, figured shiny would help). Thanks

 

I'm no pro by any means (yet), and was right where you are just a few weeks ago. This link helped me out quite a bit. Between reading that, and spending a couple hours going through posts on here, I couldn't be happier with the results.

http://www.meguiars.com/faq/index.cfm

Click on the "paint care", and there's a whole section on the difference between polish and wax, as well as a nice step-by-step, and what each of those steps accomplishes.

Good luck!!