This is how I wax my vehicles:
1) first I go over the vehicle with Bug & Tar remover. you want to get off as much of that stuff as possible because going over it later with wax, etc. it will take some of the contaminates with it and scratch your paint/clearcoat...
2) wash with Dawn dish soap to remove any old polish/wax residue that might be remaining...
3) use a claybar to remove any additional contaminates that steps 1 & 2 may have missed. you will see and feel a noticable difference in your cars finish after you claybar for the first time...
4) wash the car again to remove any of the claybar residue...
5) if you wish to polish the vehicle this is where you to it. you apply polish before you wax. polishing will help to remove fine lines, light scrathes, and reduce the amount of swirl marks you see...i personally use Turtle Wax ICE Paste Polish on my vehicles...
6) waxing the car. i apply my wax by hand (paste wax) and then remove it with my porter cable (buffer). i apply with a microfiber pad and remove using either microfiber or cotton buffer pad/shoe cover...i personally use Meguiars #26 Paste Wax...
regardless of what they say, wash, polish, wax in the shade. avoid being under trees as they will sap on your vehicle, less chance of waterspotting, especially if you have hard water. i usually do this once a month to the SS and every other month for the Colorado...
the results. if you take your time the results are incredible and you can see the difference immediately...
here are a couple pics of my rides after treating them both to the steps above about 3 weeks ago...