Color Sanding/Wet Sanding questions? Options

[SLKWrx]

Ok, here is a pretty basic question that I'm wrestling with. I'm planning on painting my car myself. I have my test pieces that I'm learning on and I have a "down draft spray booth" in the garage. I'm trying to understand what colorsanding is exactly. Well, check that, I understand what its purpose is but my question is:

Do you sand the actual color layer? After you have laid all the layers or between each one? Or is the clear what you're supposed to be sanding? If it is the clear, how does that remove orange peel or drip marks? If it is the color layer, how do you polish out the sanding scratches before laying the clear?

I'm so confused (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/confused24.gif)
Thanks all,
-- Steve

[DonTraver]

This is all based on my experience with single and double staged paints, may have that wrong. Anyway.

Single staged paint, paint that doesn't need a clear coat, PPG Delstar. This paint is great, used it on my 6, no clear coat. You color sand after putting all the paint on and letting it dry at least 3-4 days, let dry in sun or heated garage if possible. Start with 600 or 1000 wet/dry, go up to 2000, then start buffing with med to fine to swirl remover then glaze. Then wax. To do it properly, a hood could take 4-6 hours. Use a 6 inch buffer with foam pads. Buy lots of pads, change a lot.

Double staged paint using clear. No need to sand between color coat and clear as long as color coat turns out good. No runs, flies etc. Flies loovvvve wet paint. If you have a run and need to sand color coat, use 400-600 to take run out, lightly rough up rest of panel and shoot clear, the clear will fill in small scratches, you won't see them. If you're gonna color sand clear coat, shoot at least 6 coats, clear is very thin and it's easy to sand through if you don't put enough coat on. So minimun of 6 coats, or what I do. I keep shooting until I run out of clear, once it's mixed with hardener, shoot it or throw it out, might as well shoot it. Let it dry as above and start sanding and buffing. One more thing, it's best to shoot the clear coats right after you finish shooting the color coats, color coats, min of 1 tack coat, 2 color coats, I usually shoot, 1 tack coat, 3 color coats. Well that's it for me.

Later, Don