its VERY complex. what i can tell you is that the quality of a paint job relies on how well you PREP the car....once the car is prepped, just about any idiot can lay down a few good layers of primer/paint/pear/clear. prep includes knocking down the original paint, cleaning the surface of oils and greases (just touching the surface can cause fisheyes) and making sure you have a GOOD (very clean) place to work. even dust can set you back 5 hours of extra work (sand stoning dirt out of the clear is tedious and long/hard work)