Had lifeshine ( Diamond something or other ) on our Jazz and Civic when we got them from local dealer in 2011 and 2012 and as far as I can see ( I do not do car waxing and polishing ) the paintwork is is good shape and they still shine after a decent bit of rain ( natures car-wash ). I do get bird poo off with water and washing up liquid as soon as I see it though. No wax or treatment is going to protect against stone chips, but most stone chips happen on front bumper, which is a vast expanse of plastic on modern cars, and even if paint gets chipped no corrosion is going to happen. I use autoglym super resin about once a month on headlight plastic ( not on the car itself ) and so far it has stopped any fading / mistyness of the plastic.
Car and detailing forums are not to be trusted, they love their arcane and esoteric time consuming methods of clay bar cleaning and expensive waxing, almost religion to them, do not expect and respect from them for 'simple' methods of protecting the paintwork. Lifeshine may be a waste if you clean and wax you care every week, but I am allergic to car cleaning and the best ours can hope for is a garden hose wash underneath in winter, so the fact that our paintwork still comes up very well may be the only true test of it efficacy.
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I think you make a good point about car detailing forums. Being a bit obsessive I found myself being sucked in and you end up thinking that if you don't wash and rinse your car with Evian Water and a top of the range shampoo your car will literally dissolve before your eyes. The whole thing with clay bars is an odd one. They quite simply didn't exist until about 15 years ago and we had clean and shiny cars then.
Back in the day I would wash my car with Zip Wax (pre-rinsing with a watering can), rinse and then dry with a chamois. If it was dry I'd occasionally apply a bit of Turtle Wax or Autoglym Super Resin doing a quarter of the car at a time.
By some considerable distance my car was the shiniest and best cared for car on the street. I now follow a similar routine to Kremmen using a spray on detailer or wax after the wash. My car is still the shiniest on the street!
