Hi Dave, welcome to the forum, and detailing section.
Sounds like you've got the basics covered but here's a bit of info and some product recommendations alongside the various stages
Not sure what guides you've looked at, but check out the links below for good advice on various techniques - washing and drying, etc.
Links to Methods and techniques
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.htmlhttp://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=5http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?s=a6d90f10702b7755e288a2962b96975d&t=61625http://www.elitecarcare.co.ukhttp://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/generalImg/guide.gifhttp://www.autogeek.net/exterior.htmlhttp://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html As you are new to it and wanting to get into washing and looking after the car yourself, keep it simple to start and build up from there. Firstly you might want to consider getting some basic detailing equipment/products. For a decent kit (approx £70-£80) to cover the necessary pre-wash/wash/dry/protect stages. You might just want to start off with a decent shampoo, some buckets and a wash mitt but a more comprehensive kit might include some or all of the following (have included some examples of products):
Lambswool wash mitt - e.g WoWo Lambswool mitts or DoDo Juice Tribble mitt
PH Neutral Shampoo - e.g DoDo Juice Born to be mild or DJ Supernatural shampoo
2/3 x Wash buckets with grit guards (a 3rd for wheels recommended)
Snow foam and lance - e.g Valet Pro Advanced snow foam
Wheel mitt and/or wheel brush - e.g WoWo wheel mitt, Wheel Woolies
Wheel Cleaner - e.g. Valet Pro Bilberry used in spray bottle
Microfibre drying towels - e.g WoWo or DoDo Juice MF towels
Interior Cleaner/dressing - e.g Poorboys Natural Look Dressing; Auto Finesse Total Interior Cleaner; Gliptone Leather cleaner and conditioner (if leather)
Microfibre buffing cloths - e.g WoWo MF and glass cloth set; DJ Fantastic Fur buffing MF cloths
Glass cleaner - e.g Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Metal polish for tailpipes - e.g Mother Mag and Aluminium Polish
Tyre dressing - e.g Meguiars Endurance Tyre Gel; Hi Shine true dressing; Gtechniq T1; Gyeon Q2 Tire
Exterior Trim dressing - Auto Finesse Dressle
Wheel sealant - e.g Poorboys Wheel Sealant; Gtechniq G5 or C2v3; Gyeon Q2 RIM
Last stage protection of your choice - sealant, or wax or both (some sealants can do double/triple duty used on paintwork, wheels and glass)
Engine Bay - e.g Aerospace 303
Spray bottles - optional - generic types
Sealant/wax foam applicators - e.g WoWo foam pads
Here are some good detailing product websites:
http://www.wo-wo.co.ukhttp://cleanyourcar.co.ukhttp://www.polishedbliss.co.ukhttp://www.theultimatefinish.co.ukhttp://www.elitecarcare.co.ukhttp://www.juicydetailing.co.ukhttp://www.i4detaling.co.uk The most important thing is to start off simple and get into a good washing and drying regime first, the rest can follow. Don't be daunted by the stages, you can do as little or as much as you like and remember to take a look at the guides in the links at the top of this post.
As it's a new car you might also want to do some decontamination to rid it of any fallout and tar/glue residue it may well have picked up at the port and on it’s travels - the iron remover being the more important on a new car. Use something like IronX (iron/fallout remover) and Tardis (tar/glue remover). You might think about claying too but this is usually best done only if you are going to polish afterwards and a brand new car really shouldn't need polishing unless the dealer has inflicted swirls during prep (if done by dealer).
So maybe start with the decontamination, wash and protect stages, or even just wash, dry and get some protection on it. If you include simple decontamination then the first detail process would look something like this:
Wheels pre wash with wheel cleaner - diluted 1:10 or less as required (in a spray bottle).
Pre wash or Snow foam whole car using lance or cannon (with pressure washer). Leave to dwell for 5 mins whilst filling up buckets
Pressure wash rinse off snow foam
Wash wheels (wheel brush/wheel mitt) use separate bucket to rest of car
2 Bucket wash PH neutral shampoo (with grit guards and lambswool mitt) - wash rest of car - bodywork and glass - starting from top down - roof - upper sections of car, lower (dirtiest) sections of car last
Pressure wash rinseDe-iron car - rinse and dry, e.g Iron X
De-tar car - rinse, e.g Tardis
2 bucket wash entire car again as before
Final rinse with open ended hose to reduce standing water to a minimum
Dry - Pat with MF towels
Protection stage - apply last stage protection - Sealant/glaze/wax - depends on what you decide to use.
Seal wheels - apply wheel sealant
Dress tyres
Metal polish tailpipes Dress exterior trim / engine bay if required
External/internal glass clean Interior clean The above sounds like a lot of work but this is breaking it down into it's component parts if you like. If you get into a good regime/routine it soon becomes second nature and in reality should only take couple hours.
Here's a link to my own detail thread for the detail I did when I first got my R -
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=275907.0 There's also lots of other very useful threads in this section so read through them if you have time.
In time as you go along you may want to add to your routine. If you want an overview of a complete full-on detailing process, that would include full decontamination and polishing then it would look something like the list below. As said earlier, you shouldn’t need to polish a brand new car, so start with just what is necessary and take it from there. But if your interested in the whole caboodle here it is FYI:
Complete detailing process:Initial light pressure wash (always at a distance and 45° angle to the car)
Wheels pre wash with wheel cleaner
Pre wash or Snow foam (optional) using lance or cannon
Pressure wash rinse
2 Bucket wash (with grit guards and wash mitt - no sponges!)
Rinse
Dry - MF towels
Decontamination phase - Iron e.g. IronX and Tar remover e.g. Tardis
Wash/rinse
Clay bar/clay cloth or clay pad
Wash again, rinse (final open ended hose rinse)n and dry
Polish (DA or hand) with polishing and refining compounds
Panel wipe to remove all polish residue
Apply protection - Sealant/glaze/wax - can be all or just some of these, OR nano/polymer sealant
Apply wheel sealant
Dress tyres
Metal polish tailpipes
Dress exterior trim if required
External and internal glass clean
Dress engine
Interior clean
Products:Everyone will have their own favourites but here is a (long, lol) list of stuff I have used. My go-to favourites, products I most use regularly and would happily recommend.
Snow FoamValet Pro advanced PH neutral
Bilt Hamber Auto foam
Meguiars Hyper Wash
Autobrite snow foam lance or similar
Shampoo:DJ Supernatural shampoo
DoDo Juice Born to be Mild shampoo
Chemical Guys Citrus wash & gloss
CG Glossworkz
Wash mitts and MF cloths:WoWo lambswool mitts
DJ Wookie's Fist mitt
WoWo micro fibre and glass cloth set
DJ Fantastic Fur buffing cloths
Auto Finesse wax applicators
WoWo foam applicator pads
WoWo micro fibre drying towels
DJ drying towels
Wheels:Valet Pro Bilberry Wheel cleaner
Hi Shine Tyre Dressing
Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour
Meguiars Endurance tyre gel
Wheel Woolies
WoWo Wheel Mitt
Interior:Poorboys Natural Look interior cleaner
Auto Finesse Total interior cleaner
Gliptone Leather cleaner
Gliptone Leather conditioner
DJ Supernatural leather cleaner
Gtechniq L1 leather guard
Other Exterior:Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass
Autoglym Fast Glass (and interior)
Mothers Mag & aluminium polish for tail pipes
Chemical Guys new look trim gel
Chemical Guys Speed Wipe Quick Detailer
Gtechniq panel wipe
Gtechniq C4 Trim Restorer
Tardis glue & tar remover
IronX iron and fallout remover
Auto Finesse Citrus Power bug remover
Chemical Guys Orange Degreaser (engine bay)
Spray bottles and spray heads
Aerospace 303
Auto Finesse Dressle
Waxes Some of the waxes listed are more suited to a dark car (mine is black), but DoDo Juice waxes are great and there are ones available for red cars too.
DoDo Juice colour charged waxes and Pro waxes
Swissvax Onyx
Collinite waxes
Collinite 915
Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax
DJ Supernatural hybrid
Sealant:Poorboys Ex-P sealant
Pootboys Glazes - Black Hole
DJ Red Mist Tropical Quick Detailer/spray sealant
Poorboys Wheel Sealant
Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour
Gtechniq C2v3
Polishing:Poorboys SSR polishes, SSR1, SSR2, 2.5 etc
DoDo Juice Lime Prime/Lime Prime Plus
Chemical Guys Hex Logic pads - polishing pads, cutting and finishing pads
Meguiars Cutting and finishing pads
Meguairs backing plates
Dual Action polisher - Meguiars G220
Pre wax cleanser:Lime Prime lite
Gtechniq Panel Wipe
Clay:WoWo Clay mitt
Bilt Hamber medium clay
DoDo Juice clay pads/sponges
DJ Born Slippy clay lube
Rebecca
PS: WoWo detailing gear is awesome!