Like that of a fender bass. The n00b way that I`m thinking of doing, is painting the body by hand, letting it dry, then adding some sort of a clear coat of ??? to it. What should I do?.

you might need to read up a lot more about painting before rushing into it. ive messed up a completely fine guitar by jumping into it like youre about to.

its all about sanding, to start you off.

It's called a gloss finish. I suggest you find books on finishing and read up. There's a lot involved in getting a good gloss finish from finishing materials, application to buffing methods and different abrasives.