Stain and polish concrete floor in basement

Ahoy,
Very handy guy here but never ventured into the land of concrete finishing. I have about 1000 feet of basement that I want to either stain and polish or just polish. I have read so MANY different things re: the process, I just wanted to talk to people here for help/advice. I have read TO Use Muriac acid and to NOT use it. Here is the process I laid out for myself. Please either tell me I am an idiot or if I am close, fill in any gaps..
Concrete is in great shape.

Stain Process:
1. Vacuum and Sweep entire area
2. Scrub area with cleaner and plastic bristle brush
3. Buff with Buffing Machine and 100 grit paper
4. Spray Muriatic Acid via sprayer and let sit for 30 minutes
5. Use broom and water to clean surface
6. Let surface dry for 48 hours
7. Sweep area clean
8. Apply stain with roller or rag
9. Let first coat dry for 24 hours
10. Apply 2nd coat if desired and let that sit for 24 hours
11. Clean all area with alkaline soat to neutralize till there is no residue (or Baking soda/Water mix).

Polish Process:
1. Clean and Sweep (should be already done after stain process)
2. Polish with floor grinder starting at 250 or 500 grit
3. Polish with floor grinder at 1000 grit
4. Finish with floor grinder at 1500 grit


At what point to I apply sealer or wax? If I just want to polish and not stain, what steps do I add to the "polish process" above?
Any and ALL advice is appreciated. What am I missing or unneccesarily adding?

THANKS!
(side note, what about the 1 concrete stair leading up to this level??? I can figure out how to stain it, but polish it?