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Hi Nick,
It's a good question and one that we should have explained better in either the instructions or the video to avoid confusion. Both methods work fine and really there is not much to choose between them (which I guess is why we do it two different ways). If, after the first coat, the part has, for one reason or another quite a few high spots where perhaps some stray fibres are sticking up or there is an excess of resin in a particlarly place then it is worthwhile doing an early 'flat' with a coarse abrasive paper before continuing to put the remaining resin layers over the top. This is particularly useful if you're cutting off excess fabric and want to smooth and radius the cut edges before building up clear resin over the top of that. The only dissadvantage to flatting at this point is that it is a potential time when you could accidentally introduce contamination to the resin - if you leaft grease or dirt or loose dust on the surface of the part before you then proceeded with the next layers of resin then this contamination would likely be 'sealed in' and affect the clarity and appearance of the finished part. Also, if you did your sanding too soon before the first layer has fully cured and you do 'wet sanding' then you could easily allow the resin to absorb water and affect its clarity significantly.
The bottom line is that either way works. Often it's useful to get some early flatting in but if you do, ensure the resin is fully cured before you do and make sure you leave the part spotlessly clean before you add more resin. If you don't need to do the initial flat then skip this step and build up your resin completely before doing any flatting.
I hope this helps.
Matt
Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales
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