I finally got done painting (base/clear) my van. One question that I have is that how far down do I need to sand the clear. I applied 2 coats of clear and have some minor runs which I rubbed it out with 1000 paper). The micro waves resulted from the paint atomization (I think) as it hits the surface is visible if ones look at it closely. Do I color sand the waves flat or just gives it a light go over? Thanks in advance.

PS. Thanks abberant, for the great tips on earlier questions.

With only 2 coats you stand a good chance of sanding through the clear. 2 coats are good if you have a clean booth and can get a nice finish with no color sanding. You might want to sand the whole thing over and put on another couple coats, at least if you want a mirror finish. You'll need to sand out all the low spots if you want a perfect finish.

I can't even imagine trying to cut and buff with only two coats. I put 6 coats of the Omni 161 on and then sanded at least half that back off and finally had 4 more coats of a high build clear applied. Then we sanded back probably half that and finally compounded and buffed. Aberrant's right, it will look a heck of a lot more like a mirror finish if you do this. I wouldn't even trust myself with a buffer on only two coats.

Have been following this and other threads about proper clearcoat sanding and have an additional question. I've decided to follow the "Shoot two coats, wetsand, then shoot two or three more and move on to sand and buff" approach. My question is related to exactly how far to wetsand both first and second applications. Sanding the first application, I noticed that after a little work with my 1500 grit I got a finish that looked like "flat orange peel" where I could see a pattern but feels flat to the touch. I assume I need to go further but what are the things to look for to get it smooth without burning through. And will this be sanded smooth enough for the first application?

The main benefit as I see it to more than 1 application of clear is to hide paint edges, but if you don't have a technique down it might also be safer to do it that way I suppose.When you dry the surface you'll be able to see the orange peel, you want to sand that completely out so it's evenly dull. Be carfeul though, with bad orange peel the low spots can be really thin. A final thinned down coat or pure reducer after a lengthy flash time helps with orange peel.

Thanks. I've read about the technique of shooting a final light coat of just reducer to "burn" the last coat of clear but frankly was nervous to try it for fear of using too much reducer and burning through the clearcoat. But a thinned final coat of clear might be the answer. The obvious question is Is there any guide or instinct from experience that seems to work as to how much to over reduce this final coat? The current ratio is 4:1:1 clear to hardener to reducer. Would 4:1:2 be thin enough? I'm using PPG Concept 2021 clear.

I think it's reckon or antique here that recommends straight reducer. I usually just leave a bit in the cup and eyeball a 50/50 mixture of whatever I have. "burn" coat is kind of misleading I think, you don't have to worry about burning through the clear, the reducer just thins the paint on the surface and it should evaporate long before it thins the layer next to the undercoat. The only thing you have to worry about is runs, and it's real easy to cause some big curtains on an otherwise perfect job. Definately don't go shooting your whole car with straight reducer unless you have a lot of experience with flow coats, it could be a time consuming mistake.