Hi!
Forget about silk and tissue if you are a newcomer (even if you are fairly experienced).
The best and easiest way to obtain a light, durable and nice finnish is to sand well and then use Oracover plastic film!

Silk and tissue is a thing of the past and there are far better ways for covering a model if you want mirror finnish on your airplane (epoxy and 25g glassfiber and 2-part auto acryl laquer paint like Sikkens, PPG, or Glasurite).
For most airplanes Oracover is the way too go.
All models below are covered with Oracover plastic film applied with an iron.

Regards!
Jan K
Sweden