I'm not a body man, but have done some blasting and painting over the years. The local hot rod shop, where I hang around, will sandblast or strip a project, then prime it with epoxy primer. Then, it can sit indefinitely, if needed, as it won't rust. And, when they do body work, filler sticks to the epoxy so no need to re-strip. And, if they are cutting out rust and welding in new parts, they just prep as needed. You can't tell what you have until you blast it to white metal!!!
