From reading many forums on the web - and my own experience - I've found that you can protect your car's finish really well by doing the job yourself at a fraction of the cost. Once every six months (usually September and March) I wash the car, polish it with something like Autoglym Super Resin Polish, or Turtle Wax Extreme. Then I put a sealant on, such as Autoglym's Extra Gloss Protection or Turtle Wax's Platinum Extra Gloss. SRP/Extreme is great for removing the dirt that washing won't remove, and filling or removing minor scratches. The EGP/PEG are good sealants which adds to the shine and durability. The Turtle Wax lasted all through last year's harsh winter well into spring.

Loads of people out there have different methods and often like to go even further to protect their car's finish, but I find the above works really well for me. Costs about a tenner for the polish and another tenner for the sealant. I bought these items three or four years ago and still haven't used them up! Money well spent IMHO...

I just use Aldi car wash wax with Carnuba in it.

Excellent shine and little work escept washing and drying.

If you think polish protects against stone chippings, you believe in faeires...