Polishing and removing minor scratches

[MikeMcDubbin]

Im a newbie to car detailing. Since my first car i have been washing the car with autoglym car shampoo, drying with a microfiber cloth then hand polishing with autoglym wiping it off after 5 mins with clean microfiber cloth and thats it. But with having a darker coloured car i notice a lot more scratches all over the paintwork with is quite irritating. Can anyone recommend a good way of removing the majority of these scratches by doing it myself. My car is off the road at the moment so I'm looking to protect the paintwork at the same time.
Do i invest in a machine polisher? If so what polish do i use? Is there specific mops? i should use? I have no idea
Or is there a good polish i can use by hand?
Is it really worth using a clay bar? I have not heard of one of these until today. To be honest i don't like the sound of it.
I also want to wax the car so what order do i do these steps in and whats the process?
Ive read about soo many different products its just dazzled me as to what i actually need and what I'm looking for

Help is much appreciated!!