Read the directions on your spray can.
You can even put your cans in a shallow cake pan of warm water to warm the paint(some people do this every time).
I usually shake the can for about 2 minutes before spraying.
Have a drying rack set up, I use this old shelf with strips of packing tape waiting ready to go.
Before you start...
Do a few test sprays to see how the spray reacts, make sure it doesn't spit paint in big drops.
This should also give you an idea of how/where(and if any) the wind is blowing.
The real trick to spray paint is technique, thin coats and heavy patients are key.
Your spray stroke should always start away from the target and spray evenly over desired area but keep the spray going until after you have cleared the target.
Never start or stop spraying directly at your target.
The speed of your stroke will depend on how fast the can sprays and what part of the process you are at, in the beginning you will want somewhat fast strokes as first coats should not cover the target, only a light mist is necessary.
This can be repeated every 15 minutes or so(read directions on can for exact times).
Each piece sprayed gets the wire handle secured in the packing tape strips in between coats.
We'll start with a few thin primer coats.
After several mist coats of primer and 24 hour dry time you have complete coverage shown here.
Note the thickness, no details were lost.
I try to keep these parts in a sealed container so they remain clean from now until the painting process starts.
First paint applications should be similar to the first primer apps. start with mist coats, never start or stop spraying directly at your target.
Your first mist coat should look like this...
4-6 more mist coats should get you complete coverage.
At this point you can either:
A) You can go further and improve the the smoothness of the paint finish.
Or
B) Finish up here and do a thicker gloss coat as your final coat.
If you choose
A).....
Let the parts dry for at least 3 days or more.
You will need 1000 grit sandpaper, this is called "wet sanding".
Get the 1000 g. paper soaking wet with water and keep it wet, you want to sand the parts evenly but you do not want to sand through the paint(or primer!) so it's better to think of it as "scuffing the paint" not sanding, use very little effort.
Once you have scuffed the paint evenly it will have a dull flat look to it.
Give the parts a rinse and let them dry thoroughly...then see step B) below(final gloss coat).
You can even repeat this process for an even smoother paint finish.
The sky is the limit, you can even buy a polishing kit that scuffs the paint and polishes in a step by step process with different grit pads.(ask your hobby shop)
If you choose
B).....
Do 1- 3 final gloss coats, a gloss coat is similar to the mist coat only it's a little slower and may an inch or 2 closer to the target.
You may want to repeat a gloss coat within 20 - 30 minutes but be careful, don't over do it.
Let the parts hang dry for at least 24 hours before you touch them.
Be very gentle with the pieces, don't test to see if you can smudge the paint with your finger...you probably will.
