As a past painter/ auto-body prepper.
Prep is key. On my Subaru WRX engine bay that I sprayed last Summer, I washed the bay down with a pressure washer and scrubbed with a sponge and soap. Also de-greased and sprayed again. Then I used your standard "grey" and "red" scotch-brite pads to scuff up the surface. (personally I'd of blasted it, but that wasn't an option for me) Washed down again, and de-greased.
Then proceeded to mask anything off I didn't want sprayed (I did my bay in candy anodized purple), then sprayed an adhesion promoter and then my base coat, let tack then sprayed another coat. Let dry, then sprayed my layers of colour, light coats are key to a good finish. I did about 8 light coats on the bay. Let it dry, then proceeded to clear coat with an HVLP gun in high gloss.
For the purple, I used a standard rattle can from Dupi-Color and its held up all Summer, and throughout the Winter.
The photo doesn't do the paint any justice, looks much better in person. I also sprayed the cradle and fender wells in black as a contrast, its a Dupli-Color product also, sprayed really nice and is a gloss. The cans come with a blue aeresol tip, which makes a "fan" pattern opposed to most cans that make a "circle" pattern so you can achieve a better coverage that's even.
Link to a photo of my bay:
http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/h...17869029_a.jpg
Hope this all helps.