it should all be a smooth matte finish on its own before you even have to polish. all those spots where you see dark spots (that arent a shadow) are where it isn't evenly sanded.
I'd start around 800grit and sand until you have a uniform finish... then go up from there. when i get over 1000 i usually just skip 1500 and all that and just wetsand it with 1000+ until it is all uniform. Its not so much about the 'polishing' as it is about the 'smoothing'...
|