Colour sand and polish

[fireguyfire]

Got the 73 painted late last night back into the factory colour.
I applied 3 coats of single stage over the epoxy sealer and it looks real good, other than a couple of runs I'll have to deal with.
I'm curious about a couple of the age old paint questions and thought I'd get opinions on here.

How long should I wait before colour sanding and polishing the car?
What grits if sandpaper are you guys using when you do colour sand?

[Rich G.]

I know the clear coat shrinks a lot so it's best to wait a long time. Don't know if single stage is the same so I'm interested to see what the more experienced painters have to say. What grit you start with depends on how much orange peel you have to work with. My first jobs were pretty rough so I had to sand my butt off. All works out in the end . Good luck.

[JS29]

Did you use a catalyst or hardener? the longer you wait the harder it will get. I would give it a couple of days at the minimum. 1200/wet followed by 1500,2000. I have seen people wait a week to buff.   

[jimynick]

I know the clear coat shrinks a lot so it's best to wait a long time. Don't know if single stage is the same so I'm interested to see what the more experienced painters have to say. What grit you start with depends on how much orange peel you have to work with. My first jobs were pretty rough so I had to sand my butt off. All works out in the end . Good luck.

Maybe I'm not reading the post right, but I didn't see any reference to clear coat, just 3 coats of single stage paint. If it wasn't catalyzed nor hardened, I'd leave it to dry for at least a week and preferably, more. If you could get it into a shop and bake it, you'd be in better shape to hit it with paper. Just my 

[1 Wild R/T]

Maybe I'm not reading the post right, but I didn't see any reference to clear coat, just 3 coats of single stage paint. If it wasn't catalyzed nor hardened, I'd leave it to dry for at least a week and preferably, more. If you could get it into a shop and bake it, you'd be in better shape to hit it with paper. Just my 

I think you are right, single stage.... And that brings the question, what color? Is it a metallic? Cause you don't want to cut & buff a metallic single stage paint job...

[Mopar5]

Agreed if you have a solid color single stage you can color sand and buff with no worries. If you have metallic single stage and you color sand it very much you run the risk of cutting into the metallic. Paint runs will be tough to get out without being noticeable. That is why base clear is better less chance of sanding into the color and blending in future repairs with base clear works much better, You usually have to repaint the entire panel with SS.

[JS29]