polishing clearcoat?

so im doing a refinish on my squier 51, and i got to the point where i sprayed the clearcoat. everything is looking flat and i have the final coat of clear curing (4 days now i think), but i was wondering what i should use to polish and give the clear a "mirror" finish after i wetsand everything flat?

i have heard everything from using 3m products, to using stewmac polish, to using pieces of paper, but im trying to find something i could find at a local store? (think car polish). what do you guys got for me?

It might help to know what you sprayed it with?

i sprayed it with rustoleum gloss enamel. i posted this late at night when i was feeling a bit sick, seemed to forget completely!

i sprayed it with rustoleum gloss enamel. i posted this late at night when i was feeling a bit sick, seemed to forget completely!

I'm looking for tips on sanding and polishing enamel myself. Hopefully someone with some previous experience will pop in.

Twiggy, how hard is that stuff? Can you take your fingernail and press in a hidden location ( under bridge or neck plate) and see if it leaves a dent or feels a little soft?

My experience with spray can enamels is that they are a lot different than automotive enamels, and they do not get super hard. You can sand them flat and polish, but I never was able to get them to have a mirror shine. Just a slight sheen. However, the stuff you used may very well polish out.

There are a lot of readily available buffing and polishing compounds ( 3M, Meguiars, and Turtlewax). You can buy them at auto supply stores and even Walmart. If you wet sand through 2000 grit, you can go straight to a polishing compound like 3M Finesse It or Meguiars light duty polishing compound. Wad up the corner of a soft towel, pour on some compound and rub small areas at a time, making sure to add more compound and rotate the towel as the compound starts drying and wadding up on the towel. You can even buy big foam buffing wheels that fit onto cordless drills and use those to polish. I put a healthy coat on the pad, and buff away. If you use a light duty polishing compound there is little danger of polishing through, however, if you use a rubbing compound, you have to be careful because that will polish through if you are not careful.

Not sure if it works on enamels but on automotive type clearcoats (2-pot) sand flat to 2000grit 2500 is better then mist spray it with a trigger type window cleaner bottle and shake on some cornflour through a bit of cheese cloth and rub it with a soft towel. cornflour is finer than the 3000gr 3M polishes.