And to all you guys new to this. This happens to new guys all the time.
Pay attention when you are color sanding. There is no good reason for sanding through clear. Sand carefully, check often and sneak up on it if you are sanding a run
If you have the panel completely sanded and it's a solid color then this is what you do. Get the panel ready to spray. W&G, tack etc. When you are ready, use a quality slow reducer like SPI to mix with your base. Never use medium or fast. You only need to get coverage on the sand through. You do not want hard stop/start areas. First coat (and all coats) have the gun moving before you pull the trigger and keep the gun moving as you release the trigger. First coat you just want to spray the actual area, second coat extend out slightly more, third coat extend out past the second. All while keeping the gun moving as you pull and release the trigger. After the third coat, step back and look at the area. If the color looks the same and you can't see any difference in the blend area versus the rest of the panel (don't worry about gloss differences) then you are done. If you can see the start/stop areas then you want to ideally use some blender (SPI intercoat works well ) but you can do it like this as well if you don't have any. Simply over reduce your RTS base (1 (reducer) :1 (RTS base) and spray one more coat over the entire repair area extending out past your last coat. That should not be necessary though as you are using the same color as what you sprayed before I'm assuming.
Remember the secret to success is to extend each coat out past the last and to not have hard stop/start areas. Use a quality slow reducer. Practice moving the gun as you pull and release the trigger before you do it on the panel.
And no need for sealer as long as you didn't go down to metal.
thanks much Chris for taking the time to explain this in detail. I will follow your instructions carefully and post results.