I've never painted anything on a car.

The paint on my cavilers hood is pretty pad, flaking off and the previous owner tried to use some of those dab brushes with no prepwork so its flaking off too.

Basically it looks terrible. I was a bit inspired by willwren'* thread last year about painting the hood and even though he is using a gun, I figure I can get at least halfway good results with a spray can.

I'm thinking of purchasing some pre-mixed base coat to match the color code..about $30 a can....spray paint in a can, probably 2 cans, then one can of clear and doing all the sanding myself.

I'm guessing i'll need some 400 grit or so with the electric sander to get most of it done, then go down to 800ish or so with hand sanding...not sure if I need to go finer

Once done sanding I need a material to clean it, not sure what is best, then 1 coat of primer, then sand the primer...then clean again with an unknown chemical....then 2 coats of base coat sanding between each time, then finally a coat of clear.

Keep in mind this is a $1500 car so there is no point in spending $500 to get it done at even one of the cheaper shops here. The lowest quote is around $400 or so but that is me doing the prepwork....

I just need the paint to stick good enough to go thru a car wash and not chip off, which the OEM paint is doing right now.

I understand the prepwork is going to be the biggest thing here to make it stick for a while...

any tips on specific primers or chemicals to use to prep it?

There are specific wax/grease removers (PPG, BASF, and every other manufacturer of paint has one) that strip the existing paint before you start sanding on the hood. Acetone also works quite well. I buy it by the gallon 'cause I use it so much in prep of metal parts for painting.

You do that to the part before sanding because you don't want to grind the wax, grease, dirt, etc. into the paint or bare metal.

One thing you'll find is that the really good prep solvents will also eat the spray can paints. (real urethane auto paints are impervious to them once they cure.) Test whatever solvent you plan to use on both your primer and paint to make sure it doesn't dissolve it on contact.

You'll need wet/dry sanding paper and a squirt bottle. I wouldn't waste time with 400 grit or finer..you are not trying to polish the parts. 100 grit wet will strip the old paint off like crazy. Clean up the scratches with up to 300 grit wet and long sanding blocks. Wipe it down with acetone till the towels come away clean. Then shoot your primer. You can use some water & alcohol mix to see what the surface will look like painted.