The first time out detailing you should take your time, setup the vehicle paint for the detailing sessions to come. This means, correct what you need to in the first detailing session (after washing/decontaminating and claying, at a minimum). Quality microfiber cloths will help your results AND speed your effort. If you use a product like Iron-X, that will take off any iron contamination in the paint/wheels. A product like Tar-X or Tarminator will remove any organic matter clinging to said same.
Try to get the best lighting you can so you can identify the defects and whether they have been corrected. I recommend open direct sunlight for defect identification, not so much for actually working on the car. There are halogen or LED worklights you can get from Home Depot or Harbor Freight if you want to invest in that. But a bright, handheld spotlight will work also. You already have experience with your PC, so that should be fine.
Long lasting protection usually means a sealant of some sort, whether it is Collinite 845/915 etc. or something more professional like GTechniq, OptiCoat or CQuartz etc. You can also get great results from Sonax Polymer Net Shield, should last a few months like you are looking for. Getting rid of bird droppings/treesap etc. as soon as it happens will also prolong the life of the LSP (last stage protection).
Supplies can be purchased online from many sources including amazon, adams, autogeek, autopia, detailers domain, autoality, carpro-us, etc. The more common product lines like meguiars, mothers etc can be found in chain auto parts stores like autozone, advance auto, etc.
HTH.