all right, so i've been sanding this piece for about 3 almost 4 hours. so i want to do this the right way. does it look like it's ready to be primered?
(i should get spray primer, 3 coats, right?)
"They say hard work pays off... well then why the hell doesn't it pay off for me?"
What was the last grit you used on it? Looks like some deep scratches. When you lay the primer down first it will look great but after a while the primer shrinks and works its way into every little scratch it can find. Thus causing sand scratches in your finished paint.
What you want to finish it off with is some 220 and up to 320 just to make sure because of the primer you use. You can use a filler primer to hide most light scratches and when dry wet sand with 500. Then it will look smooth as a babys ass and you can paint it.
Those are some really deep scratches. Like mentioned above at least work up to 220 with the sandpaper before primering that. I usually do 320 then primer. But at this stage I don't recomend u primer it, do a little more sanding with 220 then primer.