loved that guy as I am as handy with tools as he is tehehe

 

i would grind all that out. sanding that metal reinforced filler is quite a hassle. as for the prep i am doing mine right now and have the same issues. too many coats of paint, primer and some filler in some spots. i am sanding down to metal with 80 grit. as long as you have a good high build primer it will cover everything i am using the montana metal etch and high build primer (PS5012A) for the primer and (PS3008) for the metal etch. because i know it works the best. thats all i use at the shop.
http://www.montprod.com/bigsky.htm

after stripping the car put two coats of metal etch followed by two coats of high build primer. sand with 180 grit and give two more coats of high build primer. lightly sand that with 320. just to make it smooth then finish sand with 500. todays paints will cover no more than 500 grit. 600 grit is passable but not 800. 800 will not give enough abrasion for the waterbased paint to stick. i will be using Sikkens for paint and clear. these are the steps i do at the shop. it works great for me but i cannot say ppg or dupont paints will give the same finish. i will be posting pics in about two weeks when i roll the car out of the garage with its new paint job. cheers and good luck.

 

Metal Etch what is this 1980 lol Epoxy primer FTW lmao

 

epoxy works good for small reapairs but wont fill as much as hb primer. for stripping entire car to bare metal we always use etch and high build. but everyone has their own way of doing things. In my opinion epoxy is just to thin.

 

X2!! I also find alot of epoxys are not very sandable,they like to plug the heck out of the paper.Just like you said there are many different ways of doing things and if it works well for you why change.I like to use epoxy as a sealer and spray paint wet on wet.To each is own.

 

Last sentence is perfect^^^

 

Has anyone ever used this product.MAN!! this stuff will fill 40 grit sand scratches.I have been useing it for a couple years now and it works great.No shrinking,can be final sanded and painted over
http://www.evercoat.com/productdetail.aspx?pid=28

 

Never tried it before - its name should start with "Majic" .. LOL. Thanks for the tip!

 

isn't modern tech great

 

yeah that stuff works good. i find the montana is more high build. we use slick sand when we do trailers cause it adheres right to metal and with a little reducer there is no need to sand before paint.