I'm done with sanding/wet sanding by hand! Any alternatives?

Slight orange peel!

By hand is the only way to go. I personally use decanted clear krylon and I wet sand the base coat and clear coat using modeling sanding pads that start at 3200 and go up to 12000 grit. The primer surface must also be super smooth so sand it with 3000 or so dry and then paint. Dont sand the edges or body lines as this will rub through SUPER easy and ruin your paint work. Take your time, sometimes days worth, and slowly work up to finer and finer pads. When you are done you will be very happy with the results. Finish the paint with NOVUS polishing system and you will be stunned at the shine. Good luck and it does take some practice.

BK

This one was wet sand as described.

This one was not wet sanded, only cleared. You can see the orange peel in the paint here.

After about 5 coats,wet sand the body staetibg with 3200 grit and go up to 12000.Then clean it up and give it a thinned coat of body color followed by a good clear coat No prob!

I rarely build cars, but I started a new build recently on the same Testors/Fujimi Porsche 911 Turbo that I had built when I was in high school.  I had to bag everything up and set it aside so I could just focus on one model and get my F-16 finished, but so far the painting process is going well.  I'm using Model Master enamels I managed to find through Ebay being sold by little mom and pop shops.  As with all of my other modeling subjects, I give every part a bath in Simple Green, rinse, bath in 99% alcohol, then dry.  Then I use decanted Tamiya Surface Primer (just the regular gray stuff, which lays down nice and smooth when airbrushed), thinned with MEK.  I give the primer at least 2 hours to cure, then paint.  So far, I just have the first coat on, which went on in four passes of the airbrush.  The first pass shows a lot of the primer through it, and with each pass I get closer and closer to the model with the airbrush.  The final pass goes on nice and wet, so its really important to KEEP MOVING.  I'm using the Model Master Enamel thinner because I haven't had good results with other things like lacquer thinner for that (probably just my technique, so YMMV).  After that, I put the whole thing under an upside-down Gladware container and leave it under there for at least 24 hours.  After that its safe to uncover it and let it cure an additional 6 or 7 days and not have to worry about dust getting stuck in the paint.  It will get dust on it still, but it won't stick.  But, definitely don't handle the parts until that full week has passed.  The second and final coat is the wet coat, where the paint is actually mostly thinner.  Again, the most important thing is to keep moving with the airbrush...don't stop, pause, or hover.  Now, I haven't gotten to the wet coat part yet, but aside from the airbrushed Tamiya primer, this is the same technique I used on the one I built in high school.  The first coat was nice and glossy, but after I put the wet coat on, I always hesitated to touch it because it still looked like it was wet...the finish was that smooth and glossy, like glass.

ohms

Or maybe I should change my gloss? I use Humbrol Gloss Cote.

 

Or maybe I should change my gloss? I use Humbrol Gloss Cote.