Colour sanding a pearl?

[andys2]

I'm having a go at painting a new wing for my car, I've put the primer on no problems. I put the base coat on at the weekend and I've got some orange peel on the last coat. Can I sand this out before I laquer it? If not what are my options? Paint is Audi pearl blue.

[Anatol]

Colour-sanding, even with very fine papers, will likely pull the mica particles out of the top layer of the paint, and drastically reduce the sparkle in the final finish.

If the texture is too deep to be buried in the lacquer layer, you could cut it back with fine papers, and then mist a fine blend of paint that has been reduced suitably to spray very finely, over the top of the cut surface in several flashed coats until the finish is dull and even. Then you should be able to lacquer this surface to a high gloss.

HTH

Tol