We generally advise people to put the car completely together and then to paint the car. That way, heaven forbid, if the engine has to come out or who knows what, you will not have to worry about scratching the paint twice.
When everything is happy, then you can paint it. If the painter is good it is really not a problem to make the car off right.
The chrome removal and such is not that much time. A few hours at most.
David
