One thing to remember with that video is they are going for a show car finish. While we may all "want" that, the likelihood of that actually happening is pretty slim as these are our daily drivers. I have watched that video multiple times and the main thing that I take away is that you need to put in the prep work time. You "can" knock your original paint down with 240/320grit to a decent surface that new paint would be able to adhere too but know that may have it's own issues in and of itself.
My buddy, who was a paint and body work guys for multiple years, basically told me that as a beginner you will ALWAYS make mistakes. However, knowing what those mistakes may be and choosing which ones you will more than likely make will help with you overall satisfaction of the finished product. Example would be: Do you strip the entire vehicle down to original primer/bare metal and re-prime all over again or do you just knockdown the original paint to a surface that will "probably" give good adhesion of the new paint. One will take a HELL of a lot more time than the other. And one will end up having a better life/longevity and look than the other.
The question then becomes, what is the main purpose of the paint job?
- Are you repainting to color match/panel match due to repairs?
- Are you repainting to change color?
- Are you repainting to go for a "show car" finish? Or something close there of?
- Are you repainting simply due to a combination of the above?
- After repaint, what will be the purpose/life of the paint and vehicle?
These are questions that I developed in my mind when I started approaching this (and I am sure
@NCFJ is shaking his head at me again, saying "what is this dude smoking!"). For me, BeBe is a daily driver, spends 99% of her life outside in the elements, can go MONTHS without a wash and her main purpose in to be a dirt dog hauling, mtbing, camping, offroad adventure rig. This means she will have scrapes, scratches, Nevada Pin Striping, etc. thus, she will never have that "New car" shine to her. So, with all that in mind I will likely take the time to prime my entire truck OVER the existing paint which I will knockdown with 80grit sandpaper to promote adhesion. From there I will go through the process of bringing the primer to a 320 or 400 grit status before I put my single-stage on. I will likely wetsand the primer with the 320/400 after hitting it with the da with 320/400 just to get a good consistent coat. I am currently working on filling in with body filler where needed to help have a decent body panel and then once all is said and done I will still cut and polish with my da polisher.
Since I am using a "farm implement enamel" I do not expect this paint to have any serious depth of color or anything, rather it is a good protectant to help PREVENT more of what I have been fixing over the last few years.
Sorry for the long post but don't feel discouraged, it is not an overly hard job (from what everyone keeps telling me) it is just incredibly time consumptive. Not something that a "nice" paint job can be knocked out in just a weekend.