Curious- base coat vs acrylic urehane for base

First and most importantly, Get better lighting. Especially with the color you are using EB3 is a great color but it actually has a decent amount of metallic in it and is subject to tiger striping if not sprayed properly.

Definitely spend the extra money on true base coat as well since you are planing on clear coating anyways. The metallic is a lot easier to fog out with base coat. Also, since it flashes quicker than single stage, you can get it done faster. Also with most base coats, if you decide to wait a day between base and clear, no problem. With single stage, you will need to sand the paint before you clear coat if you let it sit for more than the recommended flash time.

Lastly, if you really want to use SS and then clear, you might should probably use an integrated clear designed for that purpose. It will have a different chemical makeup that allows the single stage to gas off better without risking solvent pop.