Clarification please...should this be sanded till no orange peel before clear??

Read where peeps have said not to sand till orange peel gone, ...so, I know the rear fender shown is not ready for clear BUT if I shot this with clear, would I see the orange peel through the clear??? Please clarify. Thanks!!!

The smoother the surface the less chance you have of orange peel showing through. Don't sand so much that you cut through the color down to the primer though.

And it goes without saying that how well your clear lays down has a lot to do with your materials and skill. Wet coats will bury imperfections in the substrate but you walk a tightrope between getting runs. Also, if you plan to sand and polish the clear you can live with some orange peel too so there is less to worry about in that case.

Here's a pretty good how-to from the ChuckHawks.com site. Harley Paintin' For the Under-funded and Under-skilled
The article says you should not sand between the color and clear coats. You can sand between color coats and between clear coats, but not between color and clear. If the paint isn't sagging or running, then it should be okay. I used Duplicolor Truck/SUV paint and sprayed the first few coats very thin. then a couple of medium coats. then a final heavy or wet-looking coat. maybe two heavy coats. It's been a while since I painted the tank. I followed the Duplicolor instructions, not the wait times between coats in the article.
For fuel resistance use SprayMax 2k clear or something similar.

An excerpt from about half way down the page:
OK, the rule is 95% of your time is spent in prep and 5% in painting. We is ready! Mix the paint exactly according to the directions,
shaking or stirring at every stage, and store the sprayable mix in the paint cans. Mix up about a quart of each. Spray very light coats.
When you start thinking, "it needs one more pass" it is time to stop. Wet coats are for professionals.

Spray three light coats of color, waiting 30-45 minutes between coats. Blow some thinner through the sprayer between coats, dumping the excess material in the "sprayable mix" can. Remember to stir thoroughly at each step, particularly with a metallic paint. If you get a drip or run, you're spraying way too heavy. It's best to find this out on the practice pieces. Wait about two hours, then sand the drip out with #600, dry.

Recoat with color. Don't sand between the color and clear coats. It's OK if the color looks a bit rough or grainy.
All the color coats do is provide color coverage.

Now for the clear coat. Again, use light coats. Hit the practice pieces to get the feel. Put on about 4-5 light coats, same interval as above.

It don't look real good, do it? Not to worry, as long as there are no big drips at this stage, roughness and "orange peel" don't matter.
You're looking at the cumulative errors in 8 coats.

Wait about six hours, then hand sand the finish dry with #600, no sanding block. You will see a mottled effect where there is orange peel, as you have sanded the high spots, but not the low. Keep wiping with a damp rag, look at the surface, and sand until the finish is a uniform dull sheen.

Now, spray on two more coats of clear. It should look a lot better, as you are now looking at the bad news from only two coats.
Let the finish harden for several days. I waited four. End of excerpt. article continues.

JMKZHI wrote: Here's a pretty good how-to from the ChuckHawks.com site. Harley Paintin' For the Under-funded and Under-skilled

No disrespect but take that guys advice with more than just a few grains of salt. The process to paint anything needs to be specific to the materials used and that guys advice won't apply for most popular paints on the market these days.

Did you spray the black? if base coat? you don't sand base. If single stage urethane, non-metalic, you can sand it. But being that back fender, limited veiw? I would just clear it. Then you could wet sand and buff the clear.You need to be a Chemist nowadays, with all the types of product out there!

Yes, it's a gloss black base. I'd shot my base coat in 2 coats at this point, ...I walked away for 5 mins and them damned kids were horse playing (Argh!!) getting all that dust airborne!!! Needless to say, NOW that everyone has been WELL informed to stay clear from my entire work area when I'm painting, I'm prolly gonna sand good n smooth, then shoot 2 more coats of base, then a couple coats of 2K Spraymax Clear, ..allowing a good week to cure before adding my pinstripes, once pinstripes are on, allow a good 4 days to gas out, QUESTION: After this 4 days of gassing pinstripes, do I then need to scotch-bright to crack surface before spraying clear over pinstripes? Then 2 or 3 more coats of 2K clear. Then, after a solid week, buff and wax to desired shine. I'm getting excited about this.

Nessism wrote: No disrespect but take that guys advice with more than just a few grains of salt. The process to paint anything needs to be specific to the materials used and that guys advice won't apply for most popular paints on the market these days.

No offense taken. The op didn't say what type of paint he's using. The article was referenced as a general guide. I did not follow it exactly, since I used a different paint and didn't use a spray gun (Duplicolor spray paint from the auto parts store).