It will show through the clear in any of the areas you've wetsanded a metallic basecoat before the first coat of clear. I did three coats of basecoat. After the 1st and 2nd coats I did some very very minor wetsanding to remove any larger dust nibs. Tack clean then apply last coat of base. After the 3rd coat of base I didn't touch a thing because you don't want to disturb the metallic flake. I didn't get any dirt at all, just little dust/lint nibs. The little dust nibs get buried under the clear and you'll never see them. Hope that helps.