I will say my friend...I admire your dexterity in following instructions, being persistent, using your natural talent to scrounge up material at a better price than is normally possible (did you go there with an Empty Windex bottle...seriously, because the spray makes the whole Wax and Grease remover experience easier) and just the fact that even after several days of tedious work, your attitude is still stellar.
If you can get the panels sanded tonight, clean up a few areas tomorrow, we will be ready for Primer very soon...that's when it gets to be a little more fun...and the experience you get from spraying primer will benefit you when you go to apply the color and the clear coat. When you start applying the primer, there will be certain things I will be asking you to pay attention too and watch for. I'm going to be asking you to apply the primer the same way I'm going to be asking you to apply the paint.
Have you made any more headway in locating the base coat...I was thinking, it may benefit you to use the fact that you are being tutored by an ex PPG Rep...(not that my name would mean anything in the US but, just the fact that someone with a history with PPG is volunteering time, might help get you in the door, get a better price and even better treatment from the staff at the store...I know, they should treat everyone equally, unfortunately, as in many other walks of life, that doesn't happen and from experience I know it doesn't happen at paint stores, especially at the retail level.
I remember walking into a Dupont supplier's store when I was first Repping PPG (a customer that I was doing work for on the side had started the project with Dupont, ran out of material so I thought I would continue with Dupont...I knew the product as I had been a Dupont Rep prior to becoming a PPG Rep) in the location I'm at now. They didn't know me from Adam and I was treated as though I was mentally challenged. I listened intently and when the arrogant young fellow behind the counter made a technical error in the use of the product. I gently, but firmly explained how in fact the product should be used, let him know that I had been a Rep for Dupont in the past, where I had been a Rep, dropped the name of a senior member of the Dupont management team that I new he would be familiar with...and I was treated with much more respect...as everyone should be. Just a thought, and when you go there to get the right color, by the questions your going to be asking and how you look at the color chip is going to indicate that you are talking to someone that has painted a car or two.
Yes, Black is the easiest color to paint. The problem with painting Black is that any imperfection you have in the substrate will show up in the top coat, prep is extremely important when spraying a Black vehicle, but, when your actually putting it on, you can tell exactly where your going and where you've been and what the finish is going to look like. White on the other hand, will hide the sins of the devil in prep work but, when you paint White, you can't see where your going or where you've been and I call it going snow blind...I hate White.
So there you go, a little more trivia, a little more information that I hope helps...if your interested in using the fact that I'm giving you a hand, let me know and we start getting down to what you need to say.
Ray