I tried a search, but no luck. I am wondering what a good amount of coats of paint would be? Like, 2 coats primer, 3 paint, 3 clearcoat? Thats me just guessing. What do most shops do?? And what is the best (obviously with price in mind) Thanks for your help

 

you fix all dents prime sand re-prime sand pain till covered(2-4 coats) depending on color and as much celar as you want the more the slicker

 

It depends if you are using a one or two stage paint. If you are doing this job on your own(aka in your garge), I would recommend a one stage paint. It is cheaper than two stage (base/clear) and many manufacturers make their two stage paints just as good as there one stage(combination base/clear) and i would argue that you cannot tell the difference. The only difference in the two is that when you are done painting and want to buff, with a one stage you have to be careful not to burn through the paint sincc its color/clear all-in-one. A two stage makes small repair work down the line easier because you have a clear coat to protect the color. I have painted most of my cars with a one stage as of late because if I get a scratch/small dent it's almost as easy to just repaint the section then buff it out.

Now for number of coats its a matter of preference. You fine finish is only as good as your surface before hand. Great paint jobs not only require hours of wet sanding/buffing the final coats, but also wet sanding the primer to the finish you want your final coat to look. Paint and clear will not fill small holes and scratchces.
A one stage you are looking at maybe three coats total(one light coat followed by two heavy coats). A two stage you only lay down enough base to color the car. The only job of the base is to color the car and two coats typically hands that. Your clear will be the protection of the car and most shops put 3-4 coats and i have heard some people putting as many as 10 and wet sanding the last few coats.
But you finish will come from the work after you paint. Wet sanding and buffing when you are done is what will make your car shine. With a one stage I would only recommend buffing(not pressing two hard and using very non-abrasive polishes).