Sounds like you have had problems with the finishes you have been getting after much work. What are some of those problems?
There isn't any magic to it. Its a process of back and forth, really. first with files and then with polishing paper (wet/dry sandpaper). Use the sand paper wrapped around a hard tool like a file or hardwood stick. This is to avoid ripples and dishing out holes. Shape the tool to fit the surface if you need to. Use a lubricant with the paper. Always polish on to an edge and never off it. As you progress thru the different files and paper always polish at a slight angle to the last direction so you can tell when you have removed the lines from the previous polishing.
You can buy a book but it ain't going to tell you much more then I just did. Takes patients. Work smart not hard. One last thing, clean your file after each stroke and don't wear out the paper. Change it often, it is cheap. If you can get to a 400 paper and all the lines left by the paper are in the same direction it will blue good. You can go to a finer if you like and you can glass bead or vapor hone to get the right color. But those processes will not hide a poor polishing job.
Hope this helped and good luck.
