Just check out any of the major detailing sites (Autopia, Griot's Garage, Autogeek, etc.) and they should all have some how to articles on the basics then pick which products you like and have at it. A good wash, clay bar and wax only takes about 3-4 hours so even without getting into polishing you can make them look a lot better easily and cheap. Just make sure you have a good washmit a lots of good microfibers. Meguiar's towels are my favorite.