I have an old Sensenich 74" propeller (I think from a 172) that was a
hand-me-down gift from another pilot. The prop did not pass its
inspection, and although it does not look it - the prop is no longer
airworthy.

I have had it hanging in my garage for a few years, and have decided
it would be neat to polish it.

So, what's the best technique for stripping the paint and polishing?

I spent an hour last night working on one of the blades.

I used 120 grit sandpaper to remove the paint, then progressively
sanded with finer paper (220, 320, 400, 600, 800) until reaching
2000grit. This left a smooth finish, but certainly not a mirror-like
finish.

I then used a polishing wheel on a drill with Tarnite (which is pretty
much the same as Brasso) to polish the prop.

The end result looks pretty good, and comes pretty close to a
mirror-like finish. In fact, from a distance it looks like a mirror.
However, upon closer inspection - when the light is right, I still see
horizontal streaks, presumably from the sanding process.

Will any amount of sanding or polishing remove these streaks? Is it
realistic to think more elbow grease might provide a 'perfect' finish
on the prop?

What should I do to preserve the polished finish? Wax it - car wax?
The prop will be staying indoors out of the rain/elements, so I
probably do not need to put a $100/bottle coat of NASA approved wax.

Thanks,
Nathan