I understand how he feels. I think it's because there are so many products and potentially so many stages that you can start to wonder what do I use and when do I use it, etc.
Body:
-You wash the car when needed
-You clay bar the car once to twice a year (pick the bar with the level of aggression you see fit or use a nano skin autoscrub with your DA, you can also remove Iron contamination from your paint in this step using Iron-X)
-You compound/polish the car once to twice a year
-You can use a glaze/filler to cover up minor swirling in between polishings (glazes must be used on bare surfaces)
-You seal the paint every 3-4 months (must be used on bare surfaces or on top of a compatible glaze)
-You can apply waxes on top of bare paint, a sealant, or a glaze once a month or more.
-You detail spray after each wash.
-A sealant has to go on a bare surface only, a wax can go over a sealant, a sealant cannot go over a wax.
-Optional products like nano coatings are recommended, they are applied every 2 years, make sure your surface is polished and defect free. Once the nano coating is applied, you no longer can polish the surface unless you want to remove the coating.
Wheels Tires, Wheel wells:
-Clean wheels with soap and water for routine maintenance if wheels are really dirty use a wheel cleaner/degreaser but you will need to reseal them.
-Wheels should be sealed every month or so with a good wheel sealant/wax (Rejex, Zoop, Opti-Seal or a nano coating). Sealing wheels aids in brake dust not building up on the wheels and allows for easier clean up with soap and water.
-Dress tires each wash or as needed.
-Clean wheel wells each wash with an All purpose cleaner. Dress them with a wheel well dressing like CG Bare Bones or a A Liquid Sprayable dressing.
Trim:
-Dress trim with a trim detailer (products like CG VRT or Ultima TTG work quite well)
Glass:
-Clean glass with every wash, use a glass waffle weave towel for best results.
Tips, Chrome etc
-Clean them each wash with an APC
-Treat them with a metal or chrome polish monthly.
Engine Bay:
-Clean the engine bay monthly or as needed. Spray engine bay down with a lightly cut APC or a degreaser. Agitate soiled areas, and spray it off. Dry engine bay and apply trim detailer to rubber, and plastic components.
Interior (Lethal/Vinyl)
-Clean interior as needed
-Condition Leather/Vinyl monthly
-Dress Leather/Vinyl monthly
Can always refer to the sticky too
http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84488