Wet Sanding?

[chickenmofo]

Is it a good idea to wet sand my finished epoxy layer to a glass finish prior to panting. I have been wiping after a sand with acetone. Does this remove all blush and leave a good surface to paint. Also I stained my homemade handles and was planning to leave them coated with just epoxy to let the stain show. Is there a UV protective clear coat or varnish that needs to be applied to the epoxy where there will be no paint. I've got some pics that I Will post as soon as I'm Done. This is my first build and i'm trying to get it all right. Thanks and ANY input is appreciated.
Robby

 

[seedtick]

i usually sand the epoxy coat with 80 grit to give it some "tooth" so the varnish or paint layer will stick. Subsequent coats of varnish or paint are sanded with progressively smaller grit. Smallest grit i go to is 400 'cause i don't believe that brush coats benefit from smaller grit. If you're spraying the finish, then you can go finer.

Epoxy usually doesn't have much in the way of UV protection - although West with the clear hardener claims to have some UV protection, but they still recommend overcoating with something that provides UV protection. Friend Keith and i like Epiphanes gloss spar varnish

 

[JEM]

80-100 grit is about as smooth as you should go. Give the paint something to "bite" on.

 

[chickenmofo]

thanks guys should do the trick