I've been in the garage all morning getting started on my paint job.

Using base/clear (sherwin williams). It says to use 2 medium wet coats. Is that sufficient ? or should I do another.
It will need a little sanding/buffing. For some reason as soon as I started with the clear my gun started dripping, so I have a few drip that will need sanded out anyway.

So, do a third ? or leave it at 2 coats ?

Hello, Really depends on how much color sanding you'll need to do. I usually put on 3 coats of clear. Then you can start color sanding in a couple days. Don't sand between clear coats tho. Hope this helps. Jeff

Yep, I just went at and gave it a close look over. I have quite a few specks of dust, and a few drips so I think it will need a pretty good color sanding.
So I think I'll give her a third.

I'll post pics soon.

3 coats is your best bet. Also regarding drips/runs---DON'T try to sand them out--you're likely to create wallows and go through the clear.
Instead take NEW razor blade and scrap the high points down while holding the blade 90 degrees (vertical) to the paint surface. Lightly back and forth until the topography of the surface is correct. Then buff.

Wait a minute---I am thinking here.....Are your drips/runs in the basecoat?????? You should correct that before clearing the car.
Otherwise you will cut through the clear you lay over the defect.

---Edit---I reread your post--you're good. Just razor scrape as stated. And sand areas of orange peel, light dust.

i'm assuming you wil allow the clear to harden before sanding,i'd advise applying 2-3 more coats,because it will have to be sanded
and buffed

Yes, I'm going to wait a couple days before doing any sanding.
Good tip about using the razor blade to take care of the drips.

Right now I am only painting the hood and the trunk lid, (they are off the car). Using them as a learning experience before I move on to the rest of the car. I'm basically panel painting it, hood, trunk, doors, fenders all separate from the roof/quarter panel part of the car. Shouldn't have any paint match problems between panels, I got enough paint to do it all, and a little extra. And its a solid color, not metallic.

p.s. I think I'm going to stop at 3 coats. They were good wet coats and I only have some minor dust in it, and a few drips to shave off. And a couple of very very small bugs that had to show up of course.

Hood after 3 coats of clear.

trunk lid after 3 coats.

On the razor blade technique, if your hands are good & steady go for it, but be aware of the corners of the blade, they can do damage pretty quickly.... I'm not the steady so I wrap the corners with a couple layers of masking tape leaving 90% of the edge available for scraping but the corners covered to protect the paint....

Also when laying down the clear be sure to allow time between coats for the solvents to flash or you'll wind up with tiny bubbles trapped in the clear.....

Just invest $10 in Steck nib file

Much of what is suggested here is great advice. But a lot of people think painting a car isn't any more technical than turning wrenches. Yeah...OK!
Mind if I add a few things?....having 23 years experience as a professional painter, factory trained by BASF(Glasurit) and PPG, I can tell you that it's not hard to go too far when finesse sanding a surface. And there are factors involved like dry/cure times and windows i.e. there is a 'window' of opportunity to sand and buff the clear. Too soon and you'll leave scratches that are almost impossible to remove; too long and it gets hard as a rock costing time and sandpaper. And careful with that razor! Make sure the clear is completely dry/cured before attempting. You can't go at it the next day unless you've actually baked the paint. If you can still put a fingernail mark in the clear, it aint ready. If I were you, I would let the clear dry for 3 days or so before working on it. Just my humble

Bfaster, thats for the tips.
I'm planning on at least 2-3 days before I attempt to sand or scrap the drips.
I know that being a great painter takes education and lots of practice, etc.
Believe me, after doing my own bodywork, and now attempting my own complete paint job, I have nothing but respect for people that do bodywork and painting for a living
I'm a total rookie and not afraid to admit it, but on my budget its do it myself or dont do it.

my first body/paint project i was able to befriend a seasoned body man that was willing to give me good deal on a complete paint job provided i helped him,i was glad to learn.I do remember him spraying 4 coats of dupont primer very heavy,cured for 24hrs then he thinned some cheap grey primer and sprayed a light coat that dried in an hour,out came the boards.....we sanded,and sanded and sanded.The grey primer remained in the low spots,we wiped down the truck and reshot the dupont with 2 more coats and reboarded again after grey primer,this continued until there were no more low spots.
We then wet sanded in many different grits all the way up to 1200 i believe.
We were ready for paint!!!!After cleaning up the truck with solvent and tack clothes we left the paint booth for 1hr to let any dust settle and repeated tack clothing.He then sprayed 4 coats of seguins paint,48 hrs later we came back to wet sand for hrs again to get ready for clear.I remember him saying if you want a deep bright and shiny wet look to ad extra hardner........I must say i have yet to see a deeper,brighter and shinier paint job......4 coats of clear!!!!

this paint job got me multiple compliments and still was shiny even after 10yrs outside in a brutal Canadian winters

sanding drips with a razor can be tricky.the tech. i use is to slightly bend the razor blade ,then hold it so it forms a "U". lean it back slightly then pulling down in one direction only, you can scrape your drip down to a sandable level.