Now I'm not being argumentative but this I'll say about the cheap paint.
I've done hubs many times using the cheap brand and they look exactly the same as factory. I've been using and testing this paint on many differing applications over the past 4 or 5 years and this is what I have found.
The finish from the can is as good as you'll get.
Coverage is not so great using the lighter colours.
The silver is crap.
The gloss black is not so great as it chips far more easilly than the satin or matt finishes.
The matt black is okay in a pinch as a mere brisk wipe will give it the same lustre as satin. Satin in turn easily polishes into gloss which is really handy for touch up's.
All the colours fade/weather badly if left in the elements. So painting the bike trailer with the stuff is a waste of time.
If you paint fuel tanks frames or covers then use gloss over or it won't last and it won't look bling.
The clear coat works/flattens well and when used over gloss or satin finish looks great and the surface is made more scratch resistant also.
I'd love to go and buy the best of the best but my budget doesn't allow. If it did then I'd be out buying PJ-1 and VHT and the likes too. With the results I've had using budget paints I couldn't ask for more. I reckon it all comes back to the prep and the curing time
Here's the little TS75 donk I painted this morning using 'matt' black. They had run out of satin so me being impatient chose matt but as you can see the result isn't too bad for $3..$4 if you add in the sheet of sandpaper