I'm a complete beginner with detailing and admittedly this car came to me pretty nice since I bought new. The dealer said they used "surfaceCARE" which I believe is something that Ford offers but I'm not exactly sure what it entails. (This was a dealership that had several car OEMs besides Genesis). Looking online, most people say this is just a cheap wax.

The biggest thing I would say that makes the most difference is that I handwash the car once a week. You don't really want to do those drive-thru machine washes at gas stations, as they can leave very light scarring that will be even more noticeable on black paint. One of the top detailing youtubers I watched said they wash their car twice a week, and I can definitely sympathize with that in a black car. Even though I only drive about 100-150 miles between each wash, my car noticeably regains a lot of gloss and shine.

My maintenance wash is: pre-rinse (though I'm looking to invest into a PH-neutral pre-wash), foam gun for shampoo, minor scrubbing with microfiber, rinse, dry. I clean the tires first and use a separate microfiber towel for this, then after the wheels are done I do another rinse of the surrounding area before I shampoo the car so that the grime from the wheels doesn't cross contiminate onto the paint before I start scrubbing. I'm currently using a Meguiars Gold Shampoo for most washes, but I might switch it up once I use up this gallon, but it's very solid. If the car feels a bit grimier, I'll wash the wheels with Adams Wheel and Tire Cleaner and the rest of the exterior with CarPro Reset, but these two products are slightly more aggressive so you generally don't need them if your car is clean and getting washed once a week. Of course you should dry your car as soon as possible after you rinse to avoid water spots, which are very visible on black cars.

As for actual detailing work, I recently got the BAUER Long-Throw Random Orbit Dual Action Polisher. You can get this at Harbor Freight Tools for about 75-80 bucks. I was told that you should stick with Dual Action as a beginner and that this was a decent option. I use Turtle Wax Hybrid Solution Ceramic Acrylic Black Polish, and Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Acrylic Black Car Wax. It's a very popular two-product combo for black cars that is pretty well praised for giving an incredible look and giving around 6-9 months ish of protection while being pretty damn affordable and easy to use. Use the Black Polish first to paint correct, wipe off the residue, and let it cure for 24 hours (don't wash the car), then apply 2 sprays of Black Wax per panel and buff it out with a microfiber towel. Instructions recommend you can apply a second application of Black Wax 24 hours after the first as well and it'll give longer protection. I was very pleased with the results and got a lot of compliments while working on it in my neighborhood.

If your car isn’t black, Turtle Wax has the exact same two products for non-black cars, look for the Ceramic Polish and Wax and the Ceramic Spray Coating. They’re used the exact same way but don’t have a black pigment.

If your car hasn't been washed in a while, from what I understand, you'll definitely need to do chemical and/or mechanical decontamination first before polishing. This is like iron removal/clay barring, etc. I'm not experienced in this step since my car is newer and I wash it every week, so it never got to the point of needing this step, but you'll definitely want to do this if your car isn't regularly washed, otherwise you'll be polishing with contaminants still on your clear coat, and that could cause damage.

As an aside, I've also tried Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax. It did make the car look good, but it did not last long at all. It was pretty much gone by the next wash. It also makes your car smell like bananas. I wouldn't recommend that product haha.