So I sanded my car down from its original paint/clear.
I used 600 grit with plenty of water, didn't press too hard and went criss/cross.
I needed a little primer so I sprayed on a few light coats and I still see the sanding lines.... is this normal? Will it not show once the base coat is on there?

 

the sand scratches you see are from using the 600 grit paper, 1 way to get rid of it is wet sand with 1200 grit and alot of elbow grease...
the other way to get rid of these scratches is use PPG poly primer, since its thicker it will cover the scratches, then wet sand with 1200 grit before spraying the base coat...

 

I would have sanded with 320 grit first (on a DA), then primer filler as needed, sand the primer filler with 600 or 800 grit, use a primer sealer, then base it. I've gone straight from 320 grit > sealer > base coat, and no problems with scratches. Are there a ton of scratches? or did you possibly pick some debri up while sanding and put a few scratches in the panels?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WihaSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would have sanded with 320 grit first (on a DA), then primer filler as needed, sand the primer filler with 600 or 800 grit, use a primer sealer, then base it. I've gone straight from 320 grit &gt; sealer &gt; base coat, and no problems with scratches. Are there a ton of scratches? or did you possibly pick some debri up while sanding and put a few scratches in the panels?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Right, your approach would have been ideal.

I am thinking since sealer is thicker than regular primer it filled the sanding quite well. Did you notice any scratches after the using sealer and before your base coat??

And to answer your question, no it's not much at all, but at certain angles I still see the cross hatching. I will be putting on primer again (2-3 light coats) and then sanding that with 1000 wet and then base... I shouldn't have a problem with seeing cross hatching...should I?

 

If you are using 600 grit wet, then using 2 coats of sealer, you shouldn't have any sand scratches. Usually anything more coarse than 320 and you will start seeing sand scratches. Just make sure to use a sealer. It's said that sealer "won't fill" and is not to be used as a filler primer, but I think to an extent it fills a bit, not much though.

 

Sealer is not thicker than normal high build. Sealer is just that, sealer.

First you want to sand down your paint with 220 or 240 then prime with 2-3 coats of high build. Let the high build set, then block sand with 400 for solid color or 600 for metallics. I use 400 for both and get away with it.

 

I hope you mean to cure the primer and not just wait for it to set. Not all types of paint and paint systems/ brands have the same charictaristics. So saying that 600 is ok for all metalics is not the best advice for noobs. Who knows how they sand, what exact suface,material their sanding, what paper their using, what paint their using, what steps their using. I would suggest noobs use 800 - 1000 wet by hand for heavy metalics, to finish off the sanding step.

Once you sand the primer you should be good. If your using a solid color, you will be fine.