my first paintjob

ok im fixing up my second car not only as my work vehicle but as a test vehicle for my skills, i was going to paint it after some test sprays on my other wrecking car. Anyway im just here to really see if ive got my method correct from what ive studied in books and sites, The paint i am using is moza red and doesnt specify in the ad what type of acrylic it is but is 99 dollars AUS for 4 litres and comes with a litre of free prep wash. i will also buy 4 litres of 1 step primer/putty and a 4 litre cleat coat. these are all the same company by the way, Motospray, all the paints except from the high priced ones that i am not headed towards are much more expensive.


I will be starting by repairing all the minor dents that are on my panels and bogging them, after this i am going to remove all the trim off my car and sand back the old paint somewhat after a clean(as most of it is cracked or damaged). i will follow by doing a wet sand with 800-1000 grit sandpaper. or progressivly till the surface is appropriate. i will then apply some prep wash, and apply a light layer of primer, wet sand with high grit paper, wash apply another coat of primer, make sure all the panel/body is covered and wet sand once more, wash and proceed with a light coat of monza red, sand/clean and lay another thicker layer of paint, wet sand once more, clean and make sure all the panel/body is covered and no mistakes have appeared such as orange peel, if so ill sand back and spray another coat of red, once this has all been finished ill lay a light coat of clear coat followed by a thicker one, im not sure how many coats of clear i should apply. and thats what i think i should be doing, please advise me if i have the wrong idea totally.

finally some of the things i dont know or need help with are, how many coats do you think i will get from a gallon of base colour on a small sedan, its a 1982 toyota corona, about the same size as..... this geo http://images.automotive.com/reviews/images/96prism.jpg

also am i required to thin the paint at all or is applying the base colour straight from the can after straining it fine? finally should i wet sand the clear coat or is this a big no-no

(just for reference i am plannign to spray this car on my front lawn under a car tent with plastic on the ground and sides duct taped up as much as i can from the elements,

sorry for the long post but i am just specifying my situation as best as possible so I can get the best response. regards.

hmm from what ive read through here im not supposed to sand my base colour or clear coat. only the primer... hmm i guess ill just have to try it.

Only read your last post, sorta in a rush. Who the hell said you arent supposed to sand the base? I always wet sand the base with 2000.

ok cool, i was just reading though the haynes paint and panel manual when i saw that, i should probly go rent it out from the library again.