You'd think I was Aaron Burr from the way I'm droppin' Hamiltons...

So, money. When I'm savin' it I'm still spendin' it. Those in the know say, "You've gotta spend money to make money." In that case, it's about to come pouring in. I just dropped (skip to the next sentence Mom and Dad) $500 on supplies today alone. That's not counting the grinder and sander I just bought.
Because of the way I'm stripping the paint off (one section at a time), I'm going to need to do an initial and immediate self-etching primer coat. This well keep the rust at bay. Apparently there's a window of about 8 hours before rust starts to form on newly-exposed metal. So, I'll be priming the car twice. The second coat is the high-build primer that fills in minor imperfections and is sandable, creating that smooth surface before painting. So the primer alone set me back close to $300 (with accompanying activators).
I also got a gallon of Evercoat Rage Extreme body filler, as well as some of their metal glaze for final scratch filling before priming. Add on a roll of 400 grit sandpaper, 2 sanding blocks, a glaze spreader, and probably something I'm not remembering right now, and we're at $500. But that's okay. It's saving me money in the long run. Now I just have to decide if I'm going to do the cheaper BASF Limco paint or spring for something better. (No, I'm not going get Glasurit. It's super expensive and you have to know what you're doing, apparently.) The store I'm going to also sells Sherwin Williams. They guy said they've got one that's very high quality, and sells for $308 per gallon, and I'd need just one gallon. That's not including reducer and hardener. All told it'd be $500. Anyone have any experience with it? The salesman said that the only difference I'd see between the expensive stuff and the cheap stuff is how long it lasts. Which is a big deal to me.
OH! I also got a spray gun kit. An ATD 3-gun kit. Yes, it's cheap ($96). But they assure me that it's going to atomize my one-stage paint just fine. No, it won't last as long as the more expensive ones, but I'm not going into the painting business either. (Or am I?) No.

So today I tried out my new grinder and went to town on the inside and rim of the trunk to remove rust scale. Good thing I drive a diesel or I'd probably be in the afterlife right now. As the sparks were flying (with my 1/3 full fuel tank right below me) I thought "This might be one of the dumber things I've ever done. Wait, it's diesel. It won't blow...will it?" It didn't. I didn't smell any fumes, so I figured I was fine. I was still a little nervous though. I can't wait for my POR-15 trunk repair kit to arrive in the mail. I have to get all the rust fixed before I can really move forward with the rest. I suppose I could start stripping panels further forward. I just wanna get my quarter panel cut out and replaced and all the trunk rust fixed, then prime it before I prime the quarter panels. I just wanna know the rust has been put to bed.

Things I'm thinking/concerned about:

-Getting a good enough air compressor for painting. I guess you need a really big one so you don't run out of air. However, I'm thinking that since I'm doing a panel at a time, basically, that I don't need to go too big. Maybe 25-30 gallons with a 5 hp motor? My biggest area to prime or paint at one time will be the roof and rear pillars. Will this be enough?

-I DON'T HAVE A GARAGE. My car is on the street. Painting it there will be less than ideal. The neighbors might be a little concerned. But the biggest problem is wind/breeze and dirt, bugs and pollen. For the primer it doesn't matter so much because I can sand it. But the paint?! If anyone knows of a place I can go in the DC area to paint it, please, please let me know.

That is where I am as of today. Finding an air compressor stands in the way of getting started on stripping down the panels. I'll be isolating an area at a time: strip, fill/sand, glaze/sand, prime, prime again. Wish me luck! Until next time...