As they say, you cant polish a turd. The final finish will only be as good as the paintjob below, so the prep and application are a huge part of it. If you have orange peely paint, you will never polish that away. You might get it shiny but it will be distorted and look less impressive. You can remove this with careful wet sanding but this is best left to the professionals to avoid damaging it beyond repair.
As for polishing, hand polishing will never get you far as you cant keep an even pressure on the panel at all times and you will get tired and sore meaning you put in less pressure and effort meaning the polish doesn't break down as it should.
Best bet, get a DA polisher as a beginner, as its less likely to destroy your paint in inexperienced hands, before progressing to a rotary (what I use on Trig) with a mix of polishes (course, medium coarse, fine/final finish) and pads (cutting, polishing and finish). Use the least aggressive combination first, then if it doesn't get the desired finish, move courser gradually.
Eventually you will get a finish like this from my wee Trig! Professionally done paint, so it was smooth before being polished but after some refining by me at home, it looks like this mirror finish. Lovely!

As for Turtle Wax.....leave it on the shelf at Halfords and never step foot in the shop again for detailing products. Their range is crap and overpriced. Anything that claims to combine products (Wash n Wax, Polish n Wax etc) are guaranteed to be awful and last no time at all.