[JasonB]

My method for painting is...

1. Wash in warm soapy water to get rid of any mold release agent
   
2. Sand with a fine sandpaper (at least 200 +) to provide a key for the primer and to remove any small defects.
   
3. Brush off with a dry paint brush to remove dust, and wipe over with an alcohol doused cloth to remove fingerprints
   
4. Find a way to hold the body, and twizzle it round, without touching it. I use a stick with a lump of blu tack on each end, one to attach to the inside of the roof, and the other to stick onto the workbench when it's finished.
   
5. I use car spray cans, so I follow the instructions and make sure it's at room temperature, and shake for 30 seconds.
   
6. I then spray onto a clean white sheet of paper to make sure the nozzle provides a fine mist without any blobs
   
7. When spraying the body, I start with the primer, spray from about 30cm, and spray past the ends of the car before returning, moving at a fairly sprightly pace
   
8. I twizzle the stick about 30 degrees with each pass, and also angle it up and down as I go to make sure I'm getting the undersides of window frames, and the top of the roof. 
   
9. The paint should look almost dry within a second or two, if not I know I've been laying it on too heavy
   
10. Once I've done the whole car, I stick it down to the work surface, and leave it for half an hour, covered with a box to prevent any dust landing on the paint.
    
11. Then I repeat the process, paying particular attention to any areas I've missed, or where the paint hasn't completely covered
    
12. After a day or two drying, perhaps longer if the temperatue is cool, I sand it with really, really fine sandpaper (400+), or really fine wire wool. I'm not actually trying to sand the paint here, I'm trying to de-nib it, ie remove the inevitable specks of dust, and imperfections
    
13. Then it's back to step 3, for the top coats. The main difference I've found with the top coat is that being gloss, it's more difficult to tell whether the paint is drying, and because of this I'd usually go for 3 or 4 light coats to avoid getting any runs.
    

That's my method anyway, I'm not claiming it's the best, but it works for me.