I, too, salute you on taking on the task of body work and paint preparation.
Lots of work, but lots of satisfaction when you're ready for paint.

I recently did the entire body of a 1/2 ton panel. LOTS of LONG .. almost flat
surfaces. And, to add to the frustration the whole top half was to be BLACK.
This was clearly the hardest body repair/prep project I ever undertook.

Without 3 dura-blocks and an inline air sander, I would have gone nuts and crushed the thing!
It had lots of old CB antenna holes all over the sides, a long horizontal gash along
the rear belt line, and on and on...... The outdoor pics are two days after painting. The others are later as assembly continues in my shop....

http://gallery.me.com/squire001#100085

Go For It!
mike