Hi, I'm a rookie trying to touch-up some spots - using aerosol cans on a black car in my garage.

I did a test-patch under my bonnet with success. I've now just sanded the clear coat with 2000grit on a patch on top of the bonnet. I'm starting to see metal in some parts. Before I fix I want I want to check my process is correct - in case you spot something odd.

Same process:
1. Sand back with 80 & 180 grit until clean metal
2. Degrease/wipe
3. Spray 2x coats of U-Pol primer (it's clear). Spray about 5-10cm outside of sanded area. 20mins in bw, as per aerosol can
4. Dry for ~24hrs

5. Lightly wet-n-dry sand with 400, 600, 800, (didn't have anything in between), 2000
6. Wipe service clean with cloth
7. 3x coats of base coat with about 20mins in between
8. 30mins later, 3x coats of clear coat
9. Dry for ~24hrs

10. Very lightly sand (wet&dry with 2000grit soapy water), until no rough surface
11. Apply rubbing compound and wipe off
12. Cut and polish

Would appreciate any helpful feedback!

Cheers

I'm not sure there is a benefit (without seeing what condition the surface is in) to go to clean metal and recover with aerosol cans. You could have probably just wet sanded the clear completely off went to 400 grit and primed from there. That being said the process looks solid, may want to see if there are any options to further inhibit rust, fresh sanded bare metal tends to oxidize quickly in humid areas even if you rattle can prime over the area quickly.

Interesting. Hopefully no rust even with the paint on - it's 99 degrees where I am today.
When you're sanding back with 400 before primer, you just sand until the surface is smooth ?

I've attached an image where you can see where there was clean metal, with clear spots appearing.

Well, first thing to remember is when you start seeing anything but white sanding sludge when final sanding clearcoat on anything other than a white car is, STOP. You've sanded too far, past the clear and into the base. White is tricky becauhse you can't tell if you've sanded too far until you've dried the panel. It will have a dull spot where you've sanded through

Hard masking, then painting up to your mask is not recommended, ever, even for primer. You will see the edges in subsequent coats, and actually you should be prepping and painting/ clearing the entire panel.

Add in that aeresol paints are thinner than most automotive finishes, coupled with excessive sanding, and, yeah, you're going to sand through.