JUlie,
Yup I agree! I think we may be coming at this from different angles to the same bottom lines. Julie your point that it doesn't make much sense to blow a lot of time fixing up a saturation coat I think is sage.

Sue a lot of it is a judgment call. How big is the drip? Big stuff will just get larger coat by coat. I tend to try and knock big stuff down early. Tiny stuff isn't going to affect the next several coats as much. In my own shop, I'd probably still hit the drip line with a little light sandpaper, as a just because. However, I wouldn't spent a lot of time on it either. The real key is what ever you do, don't get down below the saturation coat and expose the wood again. Julie is also very right you have the next several coats to get her fair. And the ROS time will work out the small stuff.

What ever ya do post pictures of your work. Love to see your project wins.

!RUSS