I've painted two or three bikes with car paint now. The paint does chip pretty easily, although a coating of turtle wax afterwards has helped a bit. I prime with grey, then laquer if the paint requires. I'm really impatiant, but I do wait for approximately 24 hours between coats and before reassembling, and give a light sanding between coats.
I've never known what I was getting into either, and I try not to let it stop me. After all, how else do I learn?
Although I'm not about to attempt this with my latest bike. The bikes I've done this to, two were pulled out of skips and one was about to be dumped if I couldn't fix it up, so I didn't have much to lose.
Also, really make sure you don't do this in a place you have to live in at all for the duration. At college the only place I had to do this sort of thing was in my room, so I just moved into my S.O.'s room for the duration. The fumes really do do fun things to your head!
Ellie