I TOTALLY agree with the O/P's tutorial on car washing. Using 3 dedicated buckets, mits, and his method of pre-misting any car part, front to back wash motion, mit rinsing, ......his techniques is flawless......Anal....but completely necessary for a better-than-showroom shine.
This thread taught me how to properly wash/dry/clay/polish out swirls, and wax a car. In that order......
These are the 101 commandments of exterior car-care......but he didn't mention masking black trim pieces......
I only disagreed with 1 thing the Original poster stated....
You CAN get better-than-showroom results with OTHER random orbital polishers and products, but I think the O/P was going with what works for him personally. Admittedly, he was considering the availibility of his random orbital polisher and products in Canada and the U.S.
All Around, this is a great thread for anyone that cares for their car.
I personally use products from
http://www.griotsgarage.com/
(I'm not a rep) Just a happy customer.