To clearcoat or not to clearcoat?

Just finished a ton of sheet metal work for a friends 801 Ford. Sand blasted, welded, bondo, primer, glazing finally got pitting and damage eliminated.

He only asked for CNH base color on the parts. Can I wet sand and buff the base color or should I clear coat? If so, how long do I let the paint cure before clear coating? Used hardener and reducer in the base color.

Color went on very nicely. Minimal dust specs and orange peel. I do not expect wet sanding to take too long.

Well, to me this is a case where you do what the paying customer says to do. And it sounds like you already have done that. If a complete sand/buff was in the deal then I hope you applied enough paint to allow for that otherwise I would just spot sand the nibs out and buff as apposed to sanding completely to make it look like glass. Orange peel doesn't show up much in lt grey anyway. You have to be aware that the shine/protection layer of clear that rises to the top of a single stage paint is very thin (probably less than 1/2 mil) and will be destroyed from sanding. My opinion, if you're going to sand,clear it. That being said, clear cote should be applied wet on wet , not after the paint has dried and you have to sand for adhesion. And that being said, what clear will be chemically compatible with the CNH paint??? Who knows. If it reacts then the customer has a legitament gripe because you didn't do as he said. There has to be a plan of action BEFORE the paint is sprayed and stay with it. Changing mid way through is asking for trouble. At this stage I would spot scuff out any major flaws and hand rub and a final with buffer wheel and should be plenty good for a tractor.

That's where I was headed. It is going to be sold as a work tractor and not a show piece. It already looks better than any of his other tractors that I've seen. Actually, looks better than my 8N.

Thanks for the input. Definitely did not want to risk bad adhesion.