New to modelling

Wow, I came across this old post of mine on the 3dbuzz forums from years ago. It's funny being reminded of the time when I couldn't do any of the things I can now.

Hi there people,
I've been messing with Max on and off for a while now and I've decided to get serious with it.
At the moment Im trying to model using splines and a surface/meshsmooth modifier.
I've achieved some simple constructs but I have a few problems which I can not find the answer to

Ok here goes :S

First of all how do you get that ultra smooth surface, for instance Im trying to model the side panel of a futuristic motorbike, then general shape is right but I just cant get those little bumps and ditches out of whats supposed to be a flat surface. Im pulling verices here there and everywhere but just cant get it smooooooth.

my other main problem is detail. Here are a few examples of what Im trying to achieve.....

Screws/rivets on panels
(dont know how to explain this one) grooves (like the line you have down the side of most cars or on the hood).
And basically general detail (raised and lowered bits of various shapes)
The best I can do so far is extruding normal polygons which dont exactly give the desired effect :P (at all)

Any help would be VERY appreciated, I've looked all over for hints/guides/tuts dedicated to this kind of thing but to no avail.

Thanks Alot in Advance

PS if anyone could point me to absolute beginner zbrush tutorials (I've watched the 3D buzz VTM's) because I just cant get my head around that :P