Paint VERY good info to read from previous board member

[30 Ply 30U]

info transfer from old board.

Paint
I am using PPG Concept DCC Acrylic Urethane on my Lil' Red Express project.  (I got a GREAT deal on 3 gallons of R6 Red from a guy that gave up 2 weeks after he bought the paint)  I would like to know what primer I should use on the bare steel of the truck.  I have stripped all of the old paint layers off to get back to good metal on the exterior, but have only sanded the paint in 80 grit on the interior.  Obviously I have cut to the metal in spots on the inside as well.  Should I use an epoxy primer on the whole truck, or an etching primer on the whole truck, or an epoxy on the inside and an etching on the outside?  I have some light dings to fill that I was planning to use Evercoat on, should I use an epoxy over the filler?  What high build primer and what sealer should I use with the Concept paint?  What I am really looking for I guess is what code primers and sealers should I order when I go to get my primers.  I am tied to using this paint since I got the 3 gallons of paint, the reducer and the catalyst for $150 and it was the color red that I was going to use anyway.
... If it is bare metal... there is only one answer... Etch primer.

What the etch primer actually does is... it has an acid like chemical that will bite into the metal and more or less convert the metal into a coatable surface.  You skip this part... sooner or later (More likely the sooner) you will pick up your paint job off the floor of your favorite car wash.

If you?re using PPG products and want to stick with PPG... Use the D8099 Etch Prime first.  Then a DP Series epoxy primer.

I cannot stress this enough... Etch primer and primer/filler are two completely different products and steps.  Both necessary if starting from bare metal.

I'm not sure if you remember the old days of using a rub on chemical to etch metal prior to priming.  Well, if you do... the etch prime simply makes it easier to complete that step.  Don't expect good build using etch prime.  Its sole job is listed above.  Use the filler primer to get rid of anything else you encounter as far as sand scratches etc...
Also... any PPG sealer will work.  Don't skip this stage either.  Remember...

1-Etch Prime
2-Filler Prime (Epoxy)
3-Sealer
4-Basecoat/Topcoat
5-Clear (If using basecoat)
For those of whom don't know... when painting a car red, yellow, green, some blues. Fading will occur.  Well... at least until now.  I have a U V protectant that will give you all the UV protection you will ever need for your paint job. And what is better... it's cheap.  For about $10 US/gallon you can protect your investment.  This can be added to paint as well as clearcoat stages.  If you have an interest, please e-mail me.   
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Anyway, to tell you the truth, DuPont  ... like PPG (Ditzler), has pulled the plug on Lacquer based paint.  The EPA has such high chemical use assessments against the chemicals used to produce lacquer based paints that it is no longer profitable for them to make it.  For those of you who have had something painted in the last few years know, it was getting very expensive to have something painted in lacquer.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go with countless other options including the base coat/clear coat suggestion by Richard.

I prefer that method myself only because you can fix any problems you have at each stage rather than having to repaint areas.

I just got done painting two pickups using Nason's Ful-Base Basecoat paint.  It's made by DuPont.  What a wonderful flowing paint this is.  I use PPG and DuPont normally.  But I prefer Nason.  I always have less problems with the Nason than either of the other two.  Plus coverage is as good.  It's not like PPG's omni paint where it takes darn near 15 coats to hide.  2 coats - 3 if it's a metallic or pearl color is all you need.

Even on the biggest Plymouth, it shouldn't take any more than 3 quarts to a gallon to paint your car.

Your options vary, but the amount of paint you use should be the same.  To help you decide on what kind of paint, I'll give you a brief outlook below.

Single Stage Paint (Clear Coat is in the Paint)
Fast Dry Acrylic Enamel - Alkyd based used in the early 30's through today.  100 times more durable than lacquer.

Ful-Cryl II - Actually, PPG calls this stuff Starthane.  I painted a Charger with this stuff Porsche Gaurds Red.  Left it in a snow bank for two years.  Brought it to a car wash and it looked like I just painted it.  Superior gloss for a single stage paint.

Ful-Thane - More or less Imron only stronger.  If paint had an armed forces, this would be it.  This is the be-all end-all of paint for toughness.  It's chemical resistant where most other paint is not.  This is the stuff if you only want to do it once and have it last a lifetime.  Superior gloss.

Basecoat/clear coat
Ful-Base.  If your not painting it with Ful-Thane, this would be the way I'd go for two reasons.  Easy to fix problems at all stages of the paint process.  And secondly, because of the gloss you will get from using the 465-00 Nason clear.  I'm a huge clear coat freak and I've used all domestic clears and a few of the euro-clears.  If given the chance, try the 465-00 Nason clear.  My God what a finish.  Plus, it lays out flat.  No orange peel.  I sell a ton of this product and I haven't had one guy have to buff this clear.  It's that good.  The only time they had to buff it was if they had a run.
For a massive Plymouth.....

Single Stage paint - 3 quarts - gallon

Base coat/clear coat 2 quarts - 3 quarts base
3 quarts clear.

That?s my averages.  Everyone will vary.  Depending on equipment and settings plus experience.

But just to give you an idea... I painted a 66 Barracuda with 2 quarts of base coat and I used 2.25 quarts of clear.
(Before reducers/activators that is)

http://www.performancecoatings.dupont.com/bowstreet5/webengine/dpc/common/Controller