Not at all a stupid question. So, there are many ways to paint a car, some much better than others. In a perfect world you would want to do the following;
1. test fit everything to make sure it fits correctly and you have the gaps and adjustments you want. Normally, once things are adjusted you want to mark things like the hood, trunk lid, etc so you can put it back together exactly this way. For the hood and trunk lid, many drill 1/8" alignment holes in the hinges so that they can use a 1/8" drill bit to get the hood or trunk lid back exactly.
2. before taking it all apart, do your body work, blocking, etc.
3. take it all apart and prime/seal everything (both sides), inside the car, basically everywhere. This is assuming there is not going to be any more sanding or blocking, this is the home stretch for paint.
4. paint the inside or underside of the fenders, hood, trunk, valances, etc. as well as inside the car, door jams, engine compartment, trunk, etc. Basically everything but the outside of the car.
5. reinstall all the bits/parts and paint the outside of the car. Any over spray you get will not be the same color that you just put down.
6. wet sand and buff the car ensuring to tape off all of the edges, body lines, etc.
7. at this point some people disassemble the parts to reassemble the car assuming its apart (engine/trans, interior, wiring, etc.)
Good luck, its not rocket science and the internet is full of videos and written advice. Having painted a few cars myself the biggest tip I can give you is understand the mixing ratios, using compatible materials (paint, reducer, etc), and understand and adhere to flash times. Having good equipment is very helpful but you can get good results with cheaper guns but you must not have any moisture in the air lines or your paint will be ruined. Don't get into a hurry and understand that this is a at best a full day commitment but probably more like a multi day event that you cannot stop in the middle of. Also, you have to make sure that the surfaces are absolutely clean, use a lot of prep solvent and tack rags.
Know how many coats you are going to shoot on the entire car as everything should have the same amount. Depending on color, some colors (like lime green) will change colors the more coats you put on. You do this by doing what is called "spray outs". You can buy spray out sheets online which will be basically white squares (I think they have them in grey and black to simulate other primers). Put about 4-6 on a big piece of cardboard or plywood, shoot one coat on all of them, remove one of them and shoot another coat, then remove one more and shoot another coat and so on until you get to the last one which should now have as many coats as you have panels/squares. Keep them separated and/or labeled so you know how many coats each has. When done you can look at them and determine how many coats you need to get the color/look you want. You probably don't need the same number of coats inside or behind everything, just on the outside.
Lastly, paint will not hide anything, you cannot paint over bad body work hoping to "fill it in" or make it disappear, your paint job will only be as good as what is underneath it. I like many had to learn this the hard way and there isn't anything much worse than spending hours and a pile of money to paint a car only to have it look like crap, because you then get to wait for it cure to start over again.
Have fun
