After the original article on painting was posted I got a message from one of our newsgroup chaps pointing out that I hadn't mentioned the differences between solid colour painting and base coat with a clear laquer finish, so I thought I'd better put the record straight.
As Joe quite rightly pointed out, if you're doing a base coat job, which would be a scheme consisting of metallic or pearl paints, it's not a good idea to use ANY type of sand paper, or wet/dry after the final coat of base and before the first coat of clear laquer.
The reason being that clear laquer would not "fill" the tiny scratches left by the paper, and they would actually be "sealed in" by the laquer and still be visible.
Remember ALL sandpaper leaves scratches, it's just that the scratches get progressively smaller as the paper grit number gets higher. 2000 grit is very smooth and 1 grit is a rock :-)
SO...If you're using a solid colour (non metallic) the final coat CAN be rubbed back with super-fine paper and polished with either a buffing machine and the appropriate buffing compound, or by hand with "T-cut".
IF, on the other hand, you're using a "Clear over base" system with a metallic base coat, DON'T sand the final base coat. It's OK to rub back the final coat of LAQUER, but again, you'll have to polish the shine back in with "T-cut" or a similar product.
As I said at the end of the last piece, if anyone has any ideas or tips on how to achieve that "Show winning finish", don't be shy. You can E-mail me and I'll include your ideas on here with your name or your "Handle". I'll include links to your own page too if you think it'll help others achieve the look they dream of and you don't have to restrict your ideas or suggestions to just painting either :-)
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