I sanded my hood down to a mix of bare metal and factory primer with 60 Grit on a DA. Then I sprayed epoxy primer. Some of the scratches are showing through the primer. After reading some more I think this is due to the scratches in metal vs the scratches on the primer and I should have went to a higher grit. I am planning on doing filler/putty where needed then seal those spots. Then apply 2k primer and block sand (and repeat as many times as needed) then base and clear with a metallic gold/silver color.

Is it necessary to sand everything back down and reapply the epoxy? Or can I get away with continuing on as planned and the 2k will fill these scratches?

Thanks for your insight.

yes, something a little lighter would have been better like 80 grit. but you should be good with your plan, you'll sand it smooth at some point. the problem with the heavy scratches is that after you prime over them the primer tends to shrink and the scratches continue to show. you need to let it shrink then sand it smooth to level it off. doing a dark color with deep scratches and thinking i'll cover them with primer is a recipe for disaster.
Jay D.

Thanks for the reply. It's been three weeks since I sanded the hood. Do you think most of the shrinkage has happened by this point. Hood has been in my garage with temps fluctuating between 50-75

Did you spray two coats of epoxy primer?
Generally I use a DA with 80 grit on bare metal before epoxy primer but I always shoot two coats.

Once the epoxy is cured at least 24 hours I will lightly block sand with 120 -150 grit just to reveal low spots that may require a skim coat of filler or hammer and dolly work.

Yeah, I sprayed two coats. The parts I took down to bare metal are nice and smooth. The parts that I just took down to primer have the scratches I can see. I'm just trying to determine if I should just take it all off and start again at bare metal or if I can scuff up this epoxy, seal it with epoxy and then spray the 2k.

just sand with D/A or buy hand with some 180-220. you can block the epoxy with some 180 this will start the flattening process. being careful not to sand through your epoxy coating. this will remove most of the scratches in the epoxy coat then go to your 2k filler primer. your going to be OK.
Jay D.

Great! Thanks for the help.