I improved it over the last few hours. Sanded with 1500 and then 2000 on the areas that had orange peel. Compounded and polished and it looks better. I will say the Duplicolor clear is not very good, it is easy to spray and polish and shine but it is too soft. I think if I do anything big like this again I will use 2K clear. Part of my issue, I am doing this outside. How long before 2K clear is dry enough not to stick stuff floating down onto the paint from the air? I am able to use the fast dry clear OK, as it does not stay sticky long enough for debris to catch in the paint. I think If I had a sheet overhead, that would help a lot if using a paint that takes long time to dry to the touch..

I have used before the colorite clear and that gets harder than Duplicolor clear. and also the clear from automotivetouchup is also harder and they are 1K clear.

https://www.automotivetouchup.com/

Ok here after that better sanding , and polishing. Still going to use the other polish and then use the Turtle wax ceramic spray

I have noticed this Duplicolor Patriot Blue seems to phase shift to slightly purplish blue depending on the angle of the sun light. I have seen other cars do that iridescent change.
I don't mind that, I dont know if brand new OEM Patriot Blue PB7 code also does that.

IME with rattle can clear is put on 3-4 heavy coats,wait a week or more then colour sand,1000,1500,2000.Then compound. Ive had good luck with spraymax.

Yes, spray max is the one I would buy, I was thinking if after activating and you had some left, might putting it in the freezer prevent it from curing in the can? I have done that with polyurethane caulk in cartridge tubes, they last forever when opened when frozen.

The areas I wet sanded and polished are looking very good mirror like. Going to wet sand some more areas today. Clear really needs to be very flat and smooth before polish, and it does not take long nor is it hard to do with Duplicolor being softer. I have at least 3 coats of clear. This stuff also blends clear edges well. It does not show an edge. I think due to it not being catalyzed, when you spray more clear it melts into the dried clear coat. I do wash it with dish soap first, the polishes have some kind of waxy grease in them. Some people said the 2K clears, you got to reclear a whole panel, or you will see an obvious edge.

The Dupli color clear, if you wipe 90% rubbing alcohol on it, it dissolves fast. So some benefits while having obvious drawbacks.

sdowney717 wrote:Yes, spray max is the one I would buy, I was thinking if after activating and you had some left, might putting it in the freezer prevent it from curing in the can? I have done that with polyurethane caulk in cartridge tubes, they last forever when opened when frozen.

.

It would slow it down but since its a chemical reaction making heat, it will still harden.
There's always waste when using 2k cans,its just part of the deal.

Noticed my hose water leaves visible spots on polished paint, that dont come off. What does work, is polish the paint, then coat with that Turtle wax ceramic spray. Then the water spots dont stick to the paint. Water spots is actually some dissolved minerals or chemicals in the water I think and they love sticking to Duplicolor Clear Coat.

So the hood here is waiting for a final polish with the Chemical Guys, then I will rinse and dry it and put on the Ceramic spray Honestly feels like polishing and shining a finish is like a trap, everything in the environment works against you as you try and keep it looking really nice. I have not put this much effort into a car finish in decades.

In case people cannot see the pics in the thread, I made an album

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zVbK5Am9DEnBaEig9