Cabinet prep for decals

Quoted from Jjsmooth:
Why does anyone use automotive paint?? Color is color. Auto clearcoat, of course, but I don't see the reason to spend the $ on the color.
So much money for same results.

Well I can't speak for the ops reasons to using auto paint but I can to why I switched. I have been involved with the commercial paint trade for roughly 25 years so my experience is with "traditional" paints. It was easy to get, cheap (I got it comped from my SW rep) and my rep would color match and drop of my paint for me with me ever have to leave my office. I switched to auto paints on my last restoration and would never go back. The number one reason is workability. Traditional paints (even catalyzed products) take a long time to fully cure. Whereas with auto systems, primer, base coat, clear are sandable in roughly an hour and can be taped on in 30 or so minutes. I do most of my restore on a weekend. With auto, I can get do what standard paints may take multiple weekends with cure times.

Quoted from Mbecker:
Really?? I have this same thing going on -- although I primed first. In retrospect I should have sanded finer grit before even primer. I think I used 150 on the wood, then 220 on first coat primer then 320. I am sanding after first paint coat with 400 and seeing irregularities like op has.. but if I keep sanding it goes back down to primer or occasionally wood.
Getting tired of the process though.. was hoping at 400 grit that the small imperfections wouldn't matter?
Op -- what grit are you at right now?

Are you using auto paint? Application technique is everything in minimizing stippling and orange peel. The most common mistake I see is trying to get paint to cover in one coat. More coats, less paint will net better results. I only go up to 220 on raw wood but I prep and fill the shit of the wood before priming. I'm doing a cab now and I have easily 30-40 hours into it and I haven't applied a drop of paint yet. Fill, sand, fill, sand. Then prime, sand, prime, fill, sand. On my final sand of prime I'm at 400 grit. You want a product that powders up nice when sanding. If it's not powdering, your not leveling and smoothing. If your sanding through the primer and there are still a lot of areas that haven't been sanded because of the highs and lows, you need to fill more before priming. In the ops picture, all the raised grain could have been sanded and filled away before painting. His biggest issue was no primer.

Looks good and smooth...
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