6 layers of paint

I have a 71 el camino. It is rough, but I am working on it. Anyway, it has like 6 layers of paint on it. It was originally white. On top of that is brown, red, blue, orange, and primer. Not to mention some rust and bondo.
I came across a shop owner at the last car show. He is in a smallish town 6 miles east of here. He has a shop that you can rent by the hour up to 8 hours at a time. It is open 24 hours a day and is set up for paint and sandblasting.
He says it is $250 or so for 8 hours and the equipment is provided. They have sand and plastic bead, as well as soda. I think soda would be the best. Ideally, the car should be taken apart. I don't have a trailer or anything so I would have to drive it there and back. The paint is a pain in the *****. I spent four or five hours just sanding one fender only to find dents and creases under all the paint, as well as the moulding holes that had been plugged with nails.
My motivation for stripping the paint is that it keeps cracking and is rusting in some spots. Also, it would be way cheaper than paying for a body shop by the hour and materials to sand and grind all the paint off. The body work doesn't have to be done right away, but it would be nice if the car was all one color and the "paint" didn't wash off in the rain. I should buy a cover though.
My concerns are that the old factory paint won't come off with my sander and I need to get the doors cleaned and finished so I can replace the seals.
I would need to mask the crap out of the engine compartment and grille area as the core support and wheel well, etc. are new or repainted; and it is a complete running car. I can take the bumpers and handles off, and the windshield and bed chrome didn't come with the car. There are no side moldings or emblems at all.
I have never used a blaster or a paint gun. If I had to buy primer, I don't know what kind to get? 71 el camino, and its only temporary until the work can be done.
I should mention I intend to get a cheapo paint job; probably white, to save money as the car is a beater and may end up a "weekend warrior" or at least made to look like a bracket car or simmilar.
Thanks. Sorry to ramble. NE Kansas.


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the best way I've found to strip paint off a car is "aircraft stripper" and a box of razorblades. you can strip that entire car down to the metal in aobut 12 hours, including lunch brak. Also, use steel wool and stripper to polish the metal and get all the little pieces you missed.

Thats how I've done it for thirty some years,although I've found a red scotchbrite works better than steel wool .....the steel wool breaks apart and anything the dust particals land on will get rust specks even plastic bumpers and glass and it'll ruin fresh paint....steel wool has been outlawed at my shop for twenty years....Theres a stripper out there called "peel away" Google it,but aircraft stripper is great stuff too.and readily available...Here ya go #II...http://www.dumondchemicals.com/html/peelaway.htm

Thanks for the advice. Don't know if I should be using that kind of stuff in my driveway. I am in Kansas and it is getting colder and wetter outside. The days are getting shorter. The fender I sanded off was reprimered right away and it still shows rust through the primer. I should mention I am stuck using 99 cent airisol primer from the store.
But we will see. This time last year It cost me $5oo to fix the rusted roof from all the water seeping through the paint. The fender bottoms and rear wheel arches are tinned to mask the metal that has been removed. Its all a can of worms.
Thanks.

yes aircraft stripper

I strip in the driveway when its nice out,Put tar paper down first then drive the car on top of it.50.00 bucks for a gal. stripper and some spare time,it just dont get any cheaper. everything you need to know about stripping is right here and on Wiki just click on yellow letters in my title "stripping paint" that 500.00 to fix your roof could have painted the whole car, check out the wiki "cheapo paint jobs....it'll help unless you 'd rather have someone else do all the work and have all the fun,renting can get expensive and wont get the car done any faster these guys can help get your car outta the weather too ...cheaply....most importantly dont start working on the car till you have the tools and materials you need ,dont know what to use? We do, just ask.Were here to help guys just like you...you say YOU got rust...no problem..

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If you are going to use $.99 primer from your local WallyWorld, you might as well leave the 6 coats of paint on it. For one, you don't want to prime your car in that stuff, then plan on painting over it. You'll ask for trouble. I'd wait either until Spring, or get the proper materials, strip it at the rental place, then prime it with good primer. If you don't want to do all of the body work now, epoxy prime it, then hit the body work in the Spring. If you don't plan on doing the body work then but just want to strip and prime, shoot it with a few coats of John Deere Blitz Black. At least it would have a satin sheen to it.

The paint needs to come off so it will stop cracking. The real challenge so far is the factory paint that won't sand off. One idea is to get the paint off to save labor costs at a shop. I have thought about making it look like a rod or maybe a shop truck and paint something on the doors. Or camo lol.
Thanks.
Yes, the cheap primer would only be temporary. Most of the body would still have to be restripped to do the real body work. The idea of the rental is that its 250 for a day versus 120 an hour for the local shop to soda blast it. Sand or plastic would be cheaper.
I was thinking of white with orange stripes like a 69 pace car. If I had the budget, I wanted to have a two lane black top painted on the hood because el camino means "the road".

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