Auto body repair & detailing: PPG refinishing, shiny spots, water trap

Question
Hi William,
Worked my butt off the whole summer prepping my car for paint. Stripped with Eastwood Decoat, sanded the bare metal panels with 320 for good adhesion then shot 2 coats of DPLF over the bare metal. Put mud on where it was needed then sanded as close to perfect as I could before I put on 4 coats of K36 over that, wet sanded from 320 to 800 grit, used degreaser and tacked it off then shot 2 coats of NCS black sealer, shot 3 coats of DBC Black and then put on 4 coats of DCU 2002 reduced with DT885 on a 70 degree day with 40% humidity. Have a decent water trap. Put a lot of clear to color sand and then buff out for that auto show finish. Problem is, after about 10 plus hours of using every wet sanding grit from 320 to 1000 I had such bad orange peel I still have numerous shiny spots that look like I haven't sanded them yet due to orange peel craters. I have a SATA NR 95 and used a 1.3mm nozzle the 1st 3 coats of clear and then used the 1.5mm nozzle on the last one at about 40 PSI at the gun to try and put it on real thick so it would flow well and even out - it still looked a little dry even as it was hitting the surface so I slowed my gun speed down. I try and shoot a 6 inch pattern from 6 inches away. Only in a couple places could I sand flat with 1000 that I was real happy with. I thought I knew what i was doing until it turned out horrible. FYI, I let it flash real good between coats - upwards of 30 minutes per coat on the clear so I wouldn't get panel sag. Can I reshoot more clear on it in hopes it flattens it out? What the heck am I doing wrong? Any help before I drive my Chevelle over a cliff would be appreciated.

Answer
First, you should have done start to finish with the 1.5, and you went WAY too long between coats of clear. You wait until the previous coat of clear is tacky, then spray- touch the tape next to the last horizontal surface you sprayed- if it's still liquid and smears, it's too soon- if your finger doesn't stick to it, it was let dry too long. Your finger should stick to the clear. You see, it's all about flow. You waited so long between coats that the clear couldn't melt into the previous coat of clear. Your first coat is a tacky coat- sprayed shiny, but not going for that glassy shine. This will provide a nice sticky base for subsequent coats- and reduce the chances of runs and sags. Get a data sheet for the 2002 clear, this will help with hardener and/or thinner selections for a given temperature. It will also give approximate flash times- which, I promise you, will NOT  be 30 minutes. I would sand the car with 600 grit to flatten back out the clear, then reapply 3 coats of clear over the car. Bill