The car will be prepped so the bodywork is flat and imperfection-free.
Then its primed.
The primer is cured and wetsanded to give an eggshell-like finish and the car finally prepped (solvent wipe/tack rag) before going into the paint booth.
Painters techniques vary, some like alot of thin coats of watery paint, others less coats of thicker paint.
They'll build up a good coverage and let the colour coat dry slightly.
'wet on wet' as its called is very common nowadays and basically they dont touch the colour coat but go straight on and apply the clear over the top.
Number of layers vary, but usually more clear than colour.
Once the whole lot had cured, wether it be via a low-bake oven, IR tunnel or just plain ole fresh air, the paint is allowed to harden.
Its then 'de-nibbed' with fine wet sanding paper ~1500 or finer usually to take off any particles that have landed on the paint while its drying.
Only now can it be compounded back to give the final finish.
Its here a good refinisher can make the difference between a 'like new' finish and an orange peely heap of crap.
They dont however reccommend any sort of wax or sealant for a few weeks to let the paint cure fully or it can cause problems.
I'm not sure how long it takes till the paint is 100% cured but 90 days seems to have been mentioned alot.
If the car is brand new .. dont worry about it - most cars have been manufactured ALOT longer than 90 days by the time you get yer hands on it!
