Metallic Paints

Does anyone know if you should rub down prior to clear coating
I'm repainting the wing mirrors on the Atmo ,Metallic Blue ,but am getting conflicting advice surfing it up .Some say rub down with 1200/1500 whilst others say not at all
It's a standard metallic ,not a pearl .

Don't rub it down mate. Just run over it with a tack rag to remove any particles that may be on it.

Cheers Ben ,I have done one of the mirrors that way and it looks good ,only problem is the colour match It's the right one but the rest of the car has faded a bit to far so will be forced to do the lot

bigger! A pannel at a time then, let me know if you need a hand.

BEN
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Best price I've had so far for a full pukka job is £1k, for pound notes it might be a bit cheaper and if I prep less still .Some plonker put it through a car wash I think so the top surfaces have been messed up .Have rubbed down the bonnet,roof and spoiler ready for paint ,but will have to go the whole hog now to get it right ..........

Ill have a word with the guy i heard of over here.My cheapest quote was £1800!!! and that was with me rubbing the whole thing down (hence me doing my own paint job)! This new guy sounds pretty good though... Most spayers seem to be worried about star cracks etc appearing in glass cars after they have been painted, so it might be worth rubbing the whole thing down yourself (cancel the gym membership - no need for that now ) and just asking them to do the actually piant job. Then both you and they know its been done to your satisfaction.

There are very few cracks ,only the rear spoiler which I,ve already rubbed down and filled .The roof and bonnet are done with only a few bubbles on the roof top at the screen .The rest of the panels are in good shape .

How aggresive can I be with the grade to get the clear coat off ?I used 240 on the spoiler ,roof ect but the laquer was not very thick due to the scuffing .

I normally use 150, then go over it with wet 600 grade, making sure all the 150 marks are gone. It creates a really good surface to key the paint too.
See you in the morning mate.