Do I sand down for a second coat of gloss?

Hello all

Just a quick question (or three), I painted our front door this weekend, the door has had a primer layer, weather seal undercoat and now the top coat of gloss. As the top coat is a colour, it needs a second coat, do I need to sand this down before I apply the second coat of paint?

Also, if you decide the colour you've chose isn't quite what you were looking for (more orangey-yellow than yellow ) do I have any alternative rather than starting all over again (maybe there are a few trade secrets out there )...?

Finally, just out of interest, what's the difference between primer and emulsion? They look and smell pretty similar to my untrained eye/nose.

Thanks

1) Yes you should, to take the gloss off the surface and clean off any nibs/specks that would otherwise get bigger when you do the second coat.
Clean it all off with a soft brush, wipe over with white spirit dampened rag.

2)If you need to change the colour, you'll need to do another coat.....? Or two.

3) Primer is tougher, more resilient, usually resistant to stains, not a fine finish, and more water and damp resistance than emulsion. Oil based primer is generally better than acrylic based primer, but it takes longer to dry.

Thanks for the info regsmyth, I had a feeling I had to sand down but googling didn't prove fruitful (maybe I wasn't googling correctly )

I'm hoping that once the second coat has gone on it'll look a bit better, otherwise we're just going to have to be 'those people with that orange front door'

Thanks for the info about primer, it was the first time I'd used it and was just feeling a bit cynical that the paint company were flogging me emulsion with a different label!

Looking forward to sanding again tonight...!

Be very careful sanding new gloss as it doesn't sand well. If you are not careful you'll have a load of scratches that won't be covered by the next coat.

If you apply the second coat within a few days you shouldnt need to rub down as the solvent in the second coat will 'etch' into the still 'uncured' previous coat ,unless the first coat needs 'de-nibbing' ..
800 grit wet 'n dry is better than sandpaper if you do need to.
Sanding too soon with anything rougher may break the surface skin and cause 'pickling/crazing'

Don't think I'm going to get a chance to do any more work this week so may have to wait until the weekend. In which case I may give the paintwork a light sand with 800 wet and dry paper.

Thanks for your responses.

Chris