TRI (3) stage paint job ,as a pearl. will be,STAGE: (1) ground coat.IE . the solid color,your case is WHITE.no pearls in it
(2) the pearl coat,This case also white(pearl) .Its very transparent (opaque)you can see right through it .That is Why you need stage 1.GENERALY 1 or 2 misted cross coats is good depending on the intensity (effect) your after..
THESE are BASE coats and WEIGH next to nothing.YOUR weight will come from the third stage
(3) the clear coat.THE weight is depending on how you spray. I usually spray 1 medium wet coat, in a cross coat pattern.done correctly you will have a clear coat "FILM" about the thickness of ,plastic cellophane wrapping on a cigerette package. It also is not that heavy because half the the weight is the solvents and reducers ,They evaporate out as the paint cures
HERE`s a couple tips
A) Use a light(white )primer ,you`ll get a better "hiding" on your 1`st stage,less ground coats. (B)ask for a "spray card"or two, when you pick up your paints.USE the card by doing to it every thing you do to the plane. Better yet ,do a test run on the card FIRST(practice) to determine what you need to do to get the effect you want,and keep track of, what you did on the back of (how many passes ,air pressure,Gun distance .etc.)it...IT will help you to remember down the road if you need to do a repair to the finish.(C) if you`re not comfortable spraying, 1 med.wet coat of clear than do 2 lighter coats to get the same results.It`s better to not have to sand runs out,but the happy medium is to get a wet look with out pileing the clears on. The wetter the better ( no orange peel) DAVE B.