Thanks Rebecca 
Sorry Blackmass, I've just noticed you said hand polish as opposed to DA. Same would apply for the polish but you would use either a decent foam applicator pad or micro fibre suitable for applying polish and working by hand. This is a useful guide to polishing and at the bottom of the page is a step by step guide to hand polishing
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/what-does-polishing-do.htmlHand polishing might not be sufficient if your B pillars are quite scratched and swirled. It's worth a try but it has it's limitations, if swirls are more than just light then they might need a machine polish. Good luck!
As for protection afterwards, either a good sealant, perhaps Gtechniq C2V3 or wax or both. There's plenty of good stuff out there. Always worth reading the product reviews on detaling websites, which can be useful.