I just bought a used hwy 1 in sunburst and would like to polish it to a glossy finish. Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated !!!!

Welcome to the forum. I don't know for sure but I heard talk of just using a good polishing cloth and gently polish it up by rubbing only. JMHO!!

Don't know about a used one though. I guess it depends on what condition it's in.

I suggest that you really be careful since you are not a pro at doing this..I have done this before but i'm a retired auto finisher and have refinished many guitars...
What i have done ..
1..Strip all electrics and hardware (you do not have to do this but for best results i suggest to take the extra time and do it right)

2..Take ultra fine sandpaper 800 grit or finer..Wet the surface with a damp sponge and wet sand the finish till it is dull and smooth..

3..Use the orange du pont buffing compound and buff out the finish ..

4.. then hand polish with a no swirl finishing polish..

5..Then use a wax for final polish..

The other way is to sand the finish and spray clear over it...You may be able to get some kind of shine hand polishing but it more than likely will not give the same sheen as a factory finish or last very long...

I knew a professional would chime in!!

I took off all the hardware and used McGuire's scratch X and a microfiber cloth. It still shows some orange peel if you look close enough but otherwise it is buffed out and shiney all over.

I play with a friend who has a Gibson ES-333 with a nitro finish. He unintentionally gave it a gloss by only wiping it down with a cotton cloth, after he played it. It took a little while......but it got glossy.

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

I own a black Hwy 1 and I soon found that my arm was 'shining" the part where it rubbed. I decided that I wanted the whole thing to look like a Fender body from the 50's, so I got some rubbing compound, an old cotton t-shirt and elbow grease. The guitar turned out perfectly. It's shiny, but not brand new Fender Shiny.

I hope this helps.

Thank you all for you suggestions!!! I really appreciate it.... Another question ....what is orange peel? I hear a lot of people talking about that and to be carefull not to do it to the guitar when polishing it? How can I avoid it?

Orange peel is when the surface isn't perfectly flat. It may be shiny, but it's not flat .... and looks sort of like the surface of an orange.

Invader.CC told you how to avoid it. You have to lightly sand the surface with very fine sandpaper to get it flat before you break out the polishing compound and gloss it up.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Carnuba paste wax will shine it up a bit. I use it on my Hwy 1 Tele.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Carnuba paste wax will shine it up a bit. I use it on my Hwy 1 Tele.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"