Ok, here's a brief overview of everything that goes into getting ready to hose down your car.

You have 2 different basic routes to go for painting your car. You can opt for a single stage paint in which both the appearance of color and the shine/protective coat are in a single product. Included in this family are lacquer,acrylic and enamel.

Or you go with a multistage. This includes base/clear, tri-coat, candies and most custom paints. The multistage has many advantages due to the fact that color is not burdened with having to protect the finish it simply displays the color you have chosen. Additional chemicals that are added for the purpose of UV screening, surface protection and sealing of the surface can dull the appearance of the color if they are lumped into a single product which is why multistage is superior.

I'm not going to get very involved with single stage mixing since every one of them I have worked with is very different. They all have a reducer and a hardener/activator. If it doesn't then avoid it since it is most likely a low cost product that will offer poor durability.

On to multistage. Most multistage products are very similar. Many of them use the same reduction which is 1:1. Equal parts base coat and reducer/thinner. Try to avoid using a low cost thinner in favor of the reducer recommended by the paint manufacturer. Cheap thinners can cause a variety of problems when you attempt your paint job and they really don't save you any money. Most base coats have an optional reduction using an activator. I personally avoid using these reductions due to bad experiences with wrinkling. You will be more than fine with out the activator unless your brand specifically requires it. IF ANY OF THIS CLASHES WITH WHAT YOUR PAINT SUPPLIER INSISTS UPON THEN BY ALL MEANS GO WITH THEIR DIRECTIONS AS I AM GIVING AN OVERVIEW!!!!!

On a side note, there is another option to add to your paint, flex additive. Many insist on this however, I personally dislike it. In my opinion it is flawed logic to think that you can make two pieces of plastic bend and remain bonded. It just doesn't work. There is a reason why paint flakes off metal when it gets dented. You have destroyed the mechanical adhesion between the metal and the paint. Once this happens moisture gets in and destroys the chemical adhesion and then BLAMMO YOU'VE GOT RUST. Same principal here. It doesn't show visible damage but you have compromised the mechanical adhesion and then you get a stone chip dead center in that spot. The next thing you know you're pissed off and blamin' the paint when you had an unreasonable expectation for it. I personally prefer to use an adhesion promoter on the plastic and then I paint it the same as the rest of the car. I refuse to use flex additive on anything I spray cause in my opinion it is useless. Also it clouds the appearance of color and typically it will cause the finish to dull slightly. It just doesn't make a strong case for itself in my opinion.

It does not make much sense to insist on a custom mixed color. There are thousands of color formulations that you have never seen. Mixing your own color is a recipe for disaster. The best results come from moderation. Many people favor Moore's law when adding to a mix IT DOESN'T WORK WITH CAM SELECTION AND IT ONLY GETS WORSE WHEN YOU APPLY IT TO PAINT. Most people think a ton of metallic or pearl will yield the best results WRONG!! All that yields is a crappy flat looking color that will have no pop. This is why I suggest you go to your local supplier and look at a buttload of color chips. Literally try to flood your brain with ideas. Narrow down to a few that you prefer and ask them to make a spray out panel of the ones you've narrowed it down to. There should be a minimal cost for this but it's money well spent. Also don't be a cheap ass and think you'll come out ahead by ordering paint online. You may save some money but remember it's the local supplier that can hook you up if you run short on something here or there. They'll work with you to get it right and that's priceless compared to the small amount you could have saved.