People buy the expensive bottle and skip the boring part.

If the surface isn't decontaminated, nothing you layer on top lasts. That's why a $20 wash looks worse a week later than a proper prep with a cheaper finish.

The order that actually holds:

1. Wash and dry — no leftover soap film

2. Clay or equivalent — pull bonded contaminants

3. Polish only if the paint needs it

4. Then protect

Skip step 2 and you're sealing dirt in. That's the whole game.

If you want the full process and the live room, it's inside.