First off Crazz, welcome to the forum! When you get a chance, post a picture of your truck so we can all check it out.
Now on to your question:
Detailing occurs in 3 steps. They are: Cleaning, paint correction, protection/enhancement. This is an oversimplification, read up for more detailed explanation.
Step 1: CLEANING
Obviously the first step involves washing but you must add in bug/tar removal, and claying. Bug Squash will remove the bugs/tar and claybars remove "fallout". What is fallout? Well it has a specific meaning but it's used generically for anything that sticks to your paint and often consists of: rail dust (new cars and folks near RR tracks), brake matter (think about the grooves in your rotor), and other solid materials released into the air that imbed themselves in your clearcoat. You use a clay bar and lube (wash water, Quick detailers, Spray and Wipe). Spray on the lube then wipe flattened clay on the car until it moves without friction.
Step 2: PAINT CORRECTION
This is where you fix the defect and is the most important step (IMHO) because your final product is only as good as your prep work. You can do this step by hand but talk about a workout! Buffers are commonly used. Random orbital (Porter Cable 7424 comes to mind) and Rotary (Makita 9227 comes to mind here) are the most commonly used but trust me there are many variations. Random orbital are the safest and are cheaper. Rotary buffers work faster and can take out deeper defects (unless you are super patient with an orbital) but are not for the amateur and can burn paint quite easily!
To correct paint you must first "diagnose" the defect. Examples of oxidation, swirls, holograms, scratches, etching and clearcoat failure abound so I won't belabor this point but posting pics may allow us to help you here. Based on the type of defect you chose how to correct. Mild oxidation, swirls, holograms, and minor scratches can be removed with a light cut polish/compound. As a rule deeper scratches, etching (bird poop and acid rain cause this) and heavy oxidation require heavier cuts of compounds and any scratch you can feel by running your fingernail lightly over it is too deep to remove. Exceptions always exist but are outside the scope of this post. Clearcoat failure CANNOT BE CORRECTED! You need a painter to respray (if they can).
Unless you are sure you have deep defects you start with light cut compounds and recheck after polishing. If the defect remains go to heavier compound or repeat light cut. You can remove more clearcoat but you cannot put it back! See the fantastic videos and pics posted by BlackYukon for the general procedure.
STEP 3: Protection/enhancement
This is the easy part. Simply choose a favorite product type (wax, sealant, combo) and apply. These products (also called "LSP's" or last step products) add SOME protection from UV light, water, birds, dirt/dust, and just plain look nice. This step is ENTIRELY OPTIONAL but a good sealant/wax can add a little POP to your finish that is just plain nice to look at! Waxes will help blend in minor blemishes but sealants will make them stand out more, so the overall condition of your finish may help you decide what to apply.
Hope this helps! This took awhile to post Steve, can you sticky it somewhere?
