Hey their azkruzn,
If its going to the paint shop, they should have you covered on the prep for you. And it is always recommended that you wait at least 30 - 60 days for the paint to cure before you wash it. If you wind up needing to wash it, only use clear cool water and avoid soap to reduce the risk of stains in the fresh paint.
I did a pretty detailed write up walking through the process on my flames from start to finish which might give you a better idea on what is entailed in doing custom graphics on your PT. If you would like to check it out, just click on the link below, and scroll down until you see my orange Cruiser.
help deciding!!!!!!!!
If you have any more questions, are looking for some different ideas, and so on, please feel free to ask me anytime, and I would be more than happy to try to help out any way I can! I have a lot of photos of custom painted Cruisers, or can see if I might be able to sketch up some ideas if you kind of know what you might might be looking for.
Take er easy!
Candyman