The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop PO paint, not bad but not me

So I have a nice cab, 3 window in good enough shape metal wise but it has this problem- it's hugger orange. Now that might be fine if I was a Sunkist distributor or something but it's not really my style.
My question is - how can I tell if it's a decent paint job, one I can just rough up and paint over? How can I tell if there's too much paint on the parts already and that adding even more would be bad? Am I going to have to strip it down to be confident in the paint? What can I do to tell if it's compatible with my paint choice?

Thanks for the help guys, auto paint is a relatively new playground for me but I like to learn and look forward to hearing back on the questions asked.

How much time do you have? How much do you have to spend? Both those questions will help you decide. Also, do you know how many layers of paint are on the truck? If you strip them off, it will be better, but it may not be necessary. Maybe you should become a sunkist distributor to pay for the paint . Hope I was a little help.

Stripping to bare metal, although costly, is the best way to ensure that the paint system you choose will adhere, thus eliminating any compatibility issues. There are a number of ways to achieve this goal, including any of the many types of blasting (media, bead, baking soda or walnut shells), chemical stripping or sanding. Depending on your budget and the end result you are seeking, all of these scenarios are good choices. Additionally, stripping to bare metal exposes any sheetmetal repairs, ie body filler, replacement skins etc.

Good luck with your nice 3 window cab.

Thanks for the replys guys, looks like I should at least give seriuos thought to stripping it, it will impact my hopes for completion but better right than twice.
to answer some of the questions raised-
I'd like to have the truck on the road this fall. I'd say this summer but I know that won't happen. So say 6 months.
Money matters, I don't have a ton of it but I do have a friend who earned a living painting for GM - not a show class paint job but one that will suit me fine- the prep work and buying the paint itself is all me though.
No idea how many layers of paint are already there. Suppose I could take a bedside and find out. How many layers before you need to consider long and hard about stripping it?

Ive got a question? Is this a frame off or on resto?
If its a frame on and your just looking to have a nice daily driver or even if its frame off I have had good luck taking 36 grit paper and stripping a lot of paint in a short period of time. Then we always use a high build primer and block that and its pretty slick. But I think in a day or two you would have it all stripped.

why don't you seek the advice of an expert in your local area? Check with your insurance agent as to who is the best body shop aroung and then ask them. For the cost of a couple of beers you can probably get the local body shop guy to stop by your house and take a look at what you have. He may even bring a tool to tell you how thick the paint on your truck is. It is just an idea.

Good luck

Thanks for the added suggestions.
It is a frame off, I put in a MII front from Fat Man and figured if I was doing that I may as well start from the ground up.

Brian- I hadn't thought of talking to a local shop just for an opinion so that is deffinitley worth looking into, thanks.