Everybody has to make a decision.

Are you going to own a car which has light to moderate wear and tear or are you going to commit to being the conservator of a museum-quality specimen?

The fact is - if you drive the car and also want to keep it near-concours quality - because of repeated impurities removal you will be constantly fussing with the clear coat and will wear it down sooner.

If you take reasonable care of your _driving_ car you can give it a nice polish every few years or just before you trade it in.

I don't think I'd buy a car from a guy who owns a machine polisher because I figure he's screwed up the longevity of the paint.

Anyway, this whole thing of attempting to keep the car immaculate over the long term is moot because electronics, software, and cost-of-repair issues, mean that the car's going to be impossible to keep for a long time anyway.

IMO, just wash and wax (correctly) when you feel like it so the car looks good. Try not to get trapped into making extreme car maintenance into a personal statement to prove to the driving public and the people around you, what kind of person you might be.