I masked off the top and gave the sides and back a light transparent color coat, then pulled off the masking and gave everything a couple coats of clear.

As far as paint i reccomend going to the Stewart Mcdonald website, lots of good color

I think this would be fine for a beginner build kit or even for even spraying a solid color, but there are other kits for $50 more that will suit you better if you want to get fancy

Some complain about the crack filler/sealer...that it interferes with getting a nice grain appearance if you go with something other than a solid color.