tbird - :welcome:
After a good wash, gently rub your fingers across the hood of your car. If you can feel tiny little 'bumps', then the paint can use a clay bar treatment. More than likely, being 6 years old (so is my Mazda), your car will be in need of clay.
As for how you should start, you've already done yourself a service by joining Autogeek Online! You'll learn about the 2 bucket method of washing your car, which is basically an inexpensive insurance policy for washing your car. You use one bucket with just water and a grit guard, and another bucket with water, soap, and a grit guard. Essentially, you rub your wash mitt or sponge over the grit guard in the water-filled bucket before going to the soapy-water bucket. This keeps the grit at the bottom of your buckets and away from your paint.
After washing and drying, the car is ready for the clay bar. After the clay bar step, you have the option to polish out swirl marks and scratches, either by hand or with a machine polisher. There are several machine polishers available, so do some research if you're in the market, and buy the one you feel is best suited for you. With silver paint, you may not feel that the swirls and scratches are bad enough to warrant the purchase of a polisher/buffer.
Whether you polish the car or not, you'll want to add what people here call a Last Step Product (LSP). This is your paint sealant or carnauba wax. This adds a layer of protection between your car's paint and the outdoor elements.
Hopefully this gives you a good start. Just do like I have and read as much as you can over the next week or so and you'll be hooked! The people here are great and very willing to answer your questions. Don't be afraid to ask!
Mark
