If your going down the detergant bottle route (nothing wrong with that i just got sick and tired of dragging the Pressure washer out every time i cleaned the car)
if your going to use it i'd buy the cheapest car shampoo going something like turtle wax Big Orange in 5 ltr containers for about £5.. mixed before you put in your lance bottle you will have to play about with the mix (depends on how hard the water is) i use about 250ml of shampoo made up to 1ltr with water is enough to do the car.
i personally rinse it off then use a 2 bucket and mit wash after that but some people do foam the car up then go at it with the mit washing the mit in a bucket of clean water after each panel to remove the grime stuck to the mit.
Then rinse with plenty of water...
i'd dry the car that way you remove as much of the water as you can or you will get limescale marks left which are a bu66er to rub off..
to make life easyer when drying look at the Autoglym Hydro blade basically a BIG squidgy (spl) but the car must be totally grit free before you start as a bit of grit stuck between the Hydroblade and the paint will inflict Huge linear scratches it must also be kept clean i wipe mine after each pass on a clean cloth to remove any dirt that has been picked up.
That stuff you refer to from Auto Glym (aqua wax is it by any chance) is very very good (imo i have the trade bottle renamed as Express wax ((same stuff)) but does not Polish the car its non abrasive its a quick way to wax the car that is already in a good condition i use it to top up the wax over winter the trick with it i found is to use it very sparingly or it is a complete PITA to buff off one 1 ltr bottle will do 3-4 cars this way it also works well on plastic trim and side windows..
but you cant beat a proper set too with the good old super resin polish. i did my car at the back end of last year i clayed the car
(this is the problem when you start to realize what you can get for each job the amount of stuff you can spend your money on far out strips your bank balance :bang
Clay is a special bar of synthetic clay which removes things stuck to the paint like tree sap, tar and things like that....
details on what clay is
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4829
i use this
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=91
and its the best in my eyes for beginners ( i used it the first time last year) no need for special lubricants just cheap water
(once clayed the car must be polished/waxed the same day)
followed with super resin polish using a foam applicator pad (you use less polish that way (can you tell im a Yorkshire man
,
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=137
followed by a thin coat of Autoglym Extra gloss protection which is left for an hour to "cure" then buffed off followed by another coat,
You can stop at this point the car will be gleaming many people will be more than happy with the results..
BUT if you have plenty of time and no social life (says me tying this at 1/4 to 10 on a friday night
)
you can spend an extra hour putting on a top coat of wax which adds an extra shine which the sealant doesn't dependent on the wax you use it will last months the Collinite range seems to be the longest lasting on the market at a reasonable price the tin is apparently good for 20+ applications which seems viable as you cant see ive used mine and done my car with 2 coats and my mums the other week with one and the tin still looks unused
when you get a result like this:
it almost seems worth it until you next use the car or it rains
