I've been reading archived messages about painting for the past couple
of days. None of them have answered a few simple questions I have so I
figured I'd ask some of the finishing experts here if they could help
me out. I'd appreciate any wisdom you have to offer.

I've been restoring an old video arcade machine. The cabinet is wood,
which I've primed and painted with an oil based enamel. I've done a
lot of sanding in between coats and have wet-sanded the latest coat of
paint with 1500 grit paper. I have a glass smooth surface with some
minor scratching from the sanding. I need one final coat of paint
before painting some stencils and will then clear coat.

So on to my questions. After the final base coat, should I rub that
coat with 0000 steel wool or just leave it alone? I can spray a good
finish without rubbing it but since I plan to clear coat I would assume
I should rub it first. Should I wait until the stenciled graphics are
painted on and then rub the whole thing with steel wool before clear
coating? What should I clear coat with? Would clear coating cover any
minor dulling/scratching caused by the 0000 steel wool?

I'm going for a clean, glossy finish. I'm using an HVLP setup and have
finally figured out how to get a perfect coat of paint out of it. I'm
just not sure how to finish up the paint before clear coating.