in the middle of painting, ISSUES, desperate for help

[tcodi]

so I've been working on a new paint job for weeks now, primed a few weeks ago and sanded the primer with 180 grit and then wet sanded with 320 grit until everything was ultra smooth, thinking that would help my topcoat stay smooth.
Well I just did 2 coats of a Urethane single stage topcoat, non metallic, and the first coat went on nice and smooth, but it said to do 2-3 coats so of course I did a 2nd and wish I left it at one.
When I put the 2nd coat on all of a sudden it had a ton of texture, kind of like orange peel but a little finer almost and even worse to be honest. There are a handful of spots that are still smooth but 90% of it looks terrible.
I have no idea what I did wrong. Did I put too little paint on for the 2nd coat?
I still have plenty more paint so while it's taped up and all would people with experience recommend putting more on heavier? (I have very little experience painting)
It almost looks to me like if a thicker layer was on there it would level better, but I have no idea.
I realize over the internet this is tough to help with but if anyone knows a typical rookie mistake that I may have made anything would help at this point.
Or just any advice on whether to do a 3rd coat or just accept what I have and sand for another 3 weeks.
I don't have buffing equipment or anything so I really wanted to stay away from sanding a topcoat.
It's been so much work thus far and I'm really disappointed in how it turned out.

[rspears]

I'm no expert, having shot only one car, but from what you've said you're shooting single stage, no clear coat. It sounds to me like you applied your second coat too light, or too light and from too far back with the gun allowing the fan of paint to partially dry as it was laying down atop the first coat. I would shoot the third coat, going for "wet" look but avoiding sags and runs. It's an art.

[34_40]

I'd agree with Mr. Spears. It sounds like you shot it "to dry". You'll need to go for the 3rd coat and get the gun closer and slow down, it is an art! Getting enough paint on without getting it to wet so it sags/runs. It takes practice.

It is easiest to see on the hood / roof / trunk lid, I tried setting lights to reflect off the sides so then I could see when it was "wet" enough. And I still shot some areas to dry.

[tcodi]

ok, well that's kind of what I thought.
man it was stupid not stopping immediately because that was my first thought 10 seconds into the 2nd coat but I thought maybe that appearance just faded as it cured.
I have the fan adjuster almost wide open, that might be a problem too, just too much spread and the paint is halfway dry before it hits.
thanks for the suggestions thus far
looks like first thing tomorrow I'll be painting again

[rspears]

....looks like first thing tomorrow I'll be painting again

You may want to check the spec sheet for your paint, to see what they say about time between coats. On the paint I was shooting it was something like a minimum 15 minutes flash time before recoat, but if I waited more than a couple of hours then I needed to sand lightly to get some tooth for the paint to stick to. That's all from memory, but I'd check your spec sheet before you just wipe it clean and start shooting after this much time has passed.

[tcodi]

Mine is 18 hours before sanding is required.
Just finished the new coat and it is way way better.
I reduced the fan width and sprayed closer and slower.
Night and day difference.
No show winning paint job by any means but for me its pretty good.

[v8nutz]

It's amazing what a color sand and buff can do for a so so spray job. Just a lot of work is all.

[53 Chevy5]

It's amazing what a color sand and buff can do for a so so spray job. Just a lot of work is all.

Scuff and buff has cleaned up some of my goof ups as well, it really should be done anyway, it really cleans em up.

[rspears]

It's amazing what a color sand and buff can do for a so so spray job. Just a lot of work is all.

Scuff and buff has cleaned up some of my goof ups as well, it really should be done anyway, it really cleans em up.

No disagreement about cut & buff being a good thing, but from the initial post,

I don't have buffing equipment or anything so I really wanted to stay away from sanding a topcoat.

[53 Chevy5]

Guess I missed that part. It's true if you have to buy it all from scratch I bet you'd have north of $300 in stuff.

[tcodi]

exactly, and it's maybe once a decade I paint so I don't want to invest that much into the tools and supplies

[Matthyj]

I wouldn't get to concerned at all as long as you have enough paint on, it's cut and buff time. One of the best painters I know (street rod magazine cars) says he's not a good painter, he just can color sand and buff really well. If this is your 1st paint job you will figure out real quickly that's where the finish and shine comes from, not that some can't get away without doing it, but I have too! Borrow somebodies buffer (variable speed for not doing it before) and head to harbor freight grab meguiars 105 & 205 compounds use your coupons, as they are pretty cheap there, go to oriellys and get a Master pro wool pad and a black foam pad, some 1000 grit wet paper and 1200 and you can do a pretty decent job with that alone, I use more pads and compounds but with just that you can get as good as a factory finish at least. If no money, just wait till you can as most likely it will need done or resand and reshoot but that's more paint and more $$

[mrmustang]

Mine is 18 hours before sanding is required.

Ok, first off, unless your car is in an area with a minimum of 62 degrees at all times or warmer, then your time before you can wet sand (1,500 grit is the roughest I would go for single stage) is more than double, even triple the time the paint tech sheet is telling you. Who's paint are you using, what reducer did you use? What has the ambient temperature and humidity levels been like since you shot your first coat to now? Finally, how long did you wait between coats?

[tcodi]

it was around 70 Saturday when I did it initially, then I did it again that evening and probably more like 60
It got colder overnight so by morning it was probably 40, but it was done at that point.
Humidity was relatively low when I started Saturday because I waited until 1pm after the sun had been out for a while
I'm thinking maybe I will have to bite the bullet and buff, I put so much time into sanding primer and then I feel like I ruined it with that dry coat the first time. The 3rd wet coat made it much nicer but it's orange peel city and there's even some areas that just look a little flatter.

[tcodi]

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