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it will look like this until you wet sand and reapply the paint. dont worry. the more coats you lay and the better you wet sand the better it will come out. keep at it.

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and it's finished

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M2001 - it looks like your problems started with the very first coat. It didn't lay flat at all.

Did you pre-sand the hood to prep it? It seems like something on the original surface was rejecting the paint causing it to glom together instead of laying flat.

If it was me, and you've only done the hood, I would sand the crap out of back down to a smooth base coat, and start over. I'd go back to 800 or even 600 grit to make the work go faster. You'll probably have to let it dry for a day or two before you can sand it, if you put it on that thick.

Like was mentioned above, if you sand way back down (even to the point where you see a lot of red showing through), the next few coats will go on easier so its not as bad as you might think.

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M2001 - your laying that paint on WAY TOO THICK. Going from red to black, you should still be able to see the red thru the black coats until about the 3rd coat. From your pics you have full coverage after 1 coat, which tells me your painting very thick layers. You have to resist the urge to paint thick layers, thin layers are your friend. The thick layers are causing your excessive orange peel....
keep trying, less paint, continue with just the hood until you get the process down pat...

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Im going to use 800 then go down to 600...

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will this be enough to get back to the original paint?

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If you sand long enough, you could get down to original paint with 2000 grit. It would just take a hell of a lot longer than 600 grit.

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I did sand the hood down before the first coat. although I forgot to wipe MS prior to the first coat.

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Here is the thing: old paint can have just about anything embedded in it from normal exposure. Wax, bird droppings, oil, teflon... eventhough many of those items may not be visible - rest asured they can still be in the paint surface. Any contaminant in the surface you are trying to paint can be a problem. Lots of these new wipe-and-shine "wonder waxes" can be a bear to remove from the surface. Even if you haved owned the car from new, it is hard to know what has been applied. The dealer could have trated the paint with something that is no longer shiny, but still there.

To ensure that your new paint adheres properly, you want that surface to be as clean and virgin as is practical for you to get it. Washing with a mild degreaser, and then a thorough rinse, before sanding would be a good start.

Once you have sanded it down to where you want it you want to wash (or just rinse) it down to get the sanding residue (old paint)off. Let it dry.
Hit it with MS and let dry. Then hit it with a tack cloth before painting.

Your first coat should lay down smooth and uniform. It will look like absolute crap color and coverage-wise.

As mentioned by another poster it looks as if your first coat was reacting to something on the surface.

If you have orangepeel or runs, you are using too thick a mixture, or too thick a coat.

The picture of when you sanded after your first coat shows shiny spots in the valleys of the paint and dull spots on the tops of the peel. Ideally when knocking down peel, there should be no shiny spots left. You want the surface to be absolutely flat.

Just relax and don't rush the process. Take your time and you can have stunning results. That is the beauty of this method.

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OK got it. thin is the key. i kinda knew that, but everytime i added MS to the paint, i kept thinking i added too much...i had it had the paint at a 10w-30 oil consistency. (I gotta go back to the fridge and double check low fat milk thickness, lol)

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So let me get this straight. In order to go back to original paint, i start with a lower grit, 600 and work my way up to 800? and if 800 isnt enough, take the next step and use 1000? what would be the way to sand, wet or dry?

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I am trying this painting method on my car hood, which I have removed from the car and am painting in my garage. (I want to get the technique right before I start on the rest of the car.) Anyway, I sanded off the old paint down to the metal then applied a layer of rustoleum primer spray paint. I then applied a layer of rustoleum enamel (exactly what you used except black) mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits. The first coat went on beautifully, I sanded it 24 hours later and prepped it for the next coat. When I applied the 2nd coat however, I guess the mineral spirits began reacting with the first coat and started removing the paint. What is the cause of this?

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+1 on the tack cloth after you do the MS wipedown. They only cost a couple bucks.

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