Re-sprayed the hood of my Mustang with products I've used quite a few times in the past.
Put down three coats of color (Autobody touch up) flashing 10 min. between, no issues at that point.
Went to spray the Finish 1 clear and this blemish appeared as I started to come over the front of the hood with the gun.
Tried to bury/flood it with more clear but no luck, at that point I figured I'd finish it and try to wet sand out later, but it's too deep pretty sure it's in the initial coat of clear.
Eventually I plan on doing a spot repair and re-clearing the whole hood , but any idea
what I did wrong ? I've sprayed this clear many times with the same equipment and never had an issue, maybe my gun set-up ?

Sprayed with a Finex FX3000 hvlp, 1.4 tip, regualtor at gun was 25-30psi with screw on desiccant filter.
Looks almost like air bubbles but not like solvent pop , any suggestions appreciated.

Could it be that in that spot I started pulling the trigger too late, meaning I wasn't off the edge of the hood before spraying ?

I believe that is called blushing, not exactly sure so maybe some others will chime in.

BLUSHING
(Milkiness)
A milky gray cloud appears on the surface of the paint film immediately or shortly after
application.
____________________________________________________________________________
CAUSE_____________________________________________________
(A) When spraying during humid conditions, air from the spray gun and solvent evaporation lowers the substrate temperature below the dew point, causing moisture in the air to condense in or on the paint film. The condition is aggravated when too fast drying or unbalanced thinner/reducer is used.
REPAIR _________________________________________
(1) Should blushing occur during application: (a) apply heat to the affected area, or (b) add retarder and apply additional coats.
(2) If the finish has dried, minor blushing may be corrected by compounding or polishing, however, severe blushing will require sanding and refinishing.
PREVENTION______________________________________________
(A) Always use good quality solvent and thin/reduce material according to label directions.
(B) Select proper thinner/reducer for spray condition.
(C) Add the recommended amount of retarder when spraying in humid conditions.
(D) Apply heat after application to evaporate moisture.

Thanks for the response.
Interesting .... I know it wasn't the humidity causing it, air was dry and temp was about 55-60.
Given the temp I was using a fast activator and mixed it according to mgf guidelines...very frustrating.

Colder air like that does hold more moisture. Looks kind of like a "moisture print" where there might have already been some moisture on the surface itself before shooting.

OK follow up question.
Since I'm going to have to respray this would sanding the existing clear with 600 before spraying color be correct ? Would gray Scotchbrite be better ?
Hood was taken down to bare metal and primed before I repainted.

I don't think I have ever seen blushing with a urethane clear. now with lacquer its almost a given if you spray it on a warm humid day. your only help would be an extremely slow thinner. your problem is confusing if that's where you started with the clear could it be you got some moisture out of the gun right at first. also you didn't happen to lean into it reaching for the middle of the hood during that first coat of clear. could you post a couple good straight on pictures ?
Jay D.

Tried to get some good straight on pics.
You can actually see some more spots on the leading edge of the hood, which is where I started spraying.
Badsix I think your on to something , the more I think about I wonder if I was initially getting some moisture out of the gun when I first hit the trigger.
Desiccant filter wasn't new but the beads hadn't changed color so I thought it would be ok.

from the pictures i don't see any surface problems. so i'm at a loss. if you recoat it i would sand it. this will de-nib and smooth the old surface a scotch brite won't. you did get the clear on smooth i would check the air system sometimes those little on the gun things can get overwhelmed. other than that shoot her agian.
Jay D.