You're going to want to invest into the whole works, and if you're just doing your own car and are going to maintain it frequently after correcting it, then you might want to look into rinseless washing. Regardless, things to consider near mandatory :
2 5 gallon buckets
hose/adjustable sprayer
wash media (MF chenille, grout sponge, sea sponge,or MF towels for rinseless)
drying media (electric blower, blower vac, waffle weave MF towels)
shampoo/rinseless wash
wheel cleaner
APC for tires/wheel wells/general cleaning
wheel brush
tire brush
boars hair brush for badges/emblems/cracks/crevices
interior brush for tight areas
interior dressing
exterior trim dressing
leather cleaner & dressing
glass cleaner
and lots and lots of microfiber, especially if you're doing rinseless washes, and I mean high quality MF, especially post-correction, not dingy engine bay MF you get from Home Depot. And with that you'll want a MF detergent, which works much better than Tide does.
As for pads, I've been happy with the LC flat pads, especially for the price, but hear nothing but great things about the Hydrotechs, and those are supposed to be more friendly to those new to the art.
