Thank you for your opinions. The main reason I asked this question is because I would consider myself "a less then perfect painter". One of my planes has a pretty rough paint surface, but it is very uniform (almost as though I did it on purpose).

Some of the racers at the field thought this was terrible, but there were a couple that thought it might actually be faster than a mirror smooth finish. I have no idea to be honest, but I flew it anyways and it seemed as fast as the other planes I own. I guess I need to do a little more testing, but if anyone is in need of a rough (almost orange peeled) painted surface I guess I'm the guy to call.

This was my first attempt with the Nelson system of water based paints, and either I added too much or too little of thinner (water) or I had my pressure volume set incorrectly. In any case, I'm satisfied how it looks, but it is a bit rough to touch.

I'll let you know how it goes, this will probably be my back up plane at the Nats this year.