I got sick and tired of taking my car into the body shops and paying big bucks for shoddy work so I learned how to do body / paint work through the school of hard knocks. I bought a basic book on body work and painting but it didn't help much. Just ask a lot of questions at the paint store and don't be afraid to start banging, filing, scraping, filling on your truck. The body work is the hard part. Painting is fun.
Here are a few tips:
#1. Spray large wavy panels with a heavy building primer then wet sand then smooth with a good quality sanding "block". Then go over the area with fine grit ( 400+ ) wet sand and wipe it clean with a towel. look closely from a shallow angle to see if the waves are gone. If not repeat the process. If you cannot get it smooth you may have to file some of the high areas.
#2. Use body putty for the small dings and Bondo for the large dents ( after you have popped them out as much as possible ) . You can use the body putty over the bondo to achieve a perfectly smooth finish.
#3. Get some cheap spray primer at Wal-Mart so that you won't have to keep mixing primer for your spray gun for the small primer jobs.
#4. Mix your paint as per the instructions on the label, and use hardener. To thick and it will be rough. To thin and it will be drippy.
#5. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just go for it.
