As with many things there's a vast amount of info out there.
Have a look at
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ for a fantastic resource.
I know a number of us are members there.
IMHO machine polishing is the way to go and you can start off for about £100. After that the sky's the limit
.
Canonite...
The likely reason the cars you saw were in a poor state is because the "valeters" have an extremely limited time to do their work and possibly have limited products to work with. Or they may simply be useless and/or not care - a bit like the thread about being aware of garages that don't know what they're doing
I have a saying/phrase/mantra that "The best way to make someone mess up is to put them under time pressure." This is a classic example.
And don't get me started on the supermarket ones
This might be of interest:
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/blog/...ne-plus-ultra/. Note the time scale - 144 hours work
(but that's probably less than Cliff
)
Happy cleaning.
Andy.