Are you going to add XPEL or another film to the car? – so how does that affect “the method”?

It really does not… every XPEL installer knows when he gets the car that there are all sorts of things done to the finish – silicones from the plant, waxes and sealants the owner has put on, he does not know what has been done, and does not care because with one of the many paint cleaners/strippers… HE WILL STRIP OFF EVERYYHING THERE, SO THE XPEL CAN GO AGAINST FRESH, CLEAN, VIRGIN PAINT.

So don’t worry about it. If you are doing the method first, I would do step 1 and 2 to clean/polish the paint and stop there.

Once the XPEL is on, a simple spray with 25/75 alcohol/water (or dawn wash) to clean it, and then step 3 will do nicely.