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I want to prep my truck myself for new paint. I don't plan on this being a show job when it's done - just something that looks nice enough for me to drive and use when I want to. It has some rust, but not much. Mostly it's just really faded paint or areas where the paint has worn down to the metal but hasn't rusted since its been inside most of its life. I have a compressor and a DA Sander that should be up to the task so I have a few questions.

1. Do I need to get down to bare metal everywhere? I can, but I'm not sure if that's just for cases where there's rust.
2. What grits are best to use? I was thinking about starting with 80grit and then going to 180? Or do I need to do something in between that like 120?
3. Is there a way to keep what I've stripped from rusting while I work progressively over the whole truck? I know it's going to take a long while with the time I have and I would hate to start this and then end up having just a newly rusted mess when I was done. Is there something I can put on the area's I've done while I keep working on new areas?

Any help would be good - I've never done real painting before. I have painted the rear and front axles but it was with a brush. I'd kind of like to try actual painting someday.

Off with the Old, On with the New...
Show truck or no if your going to spend the time to strip it and want to preserve the metal cover it in epoxy primer then what ever your heart desires to cover Rustoleum to PPG.

Hot pressure washer and a wax and grease remover first to get any oils, wax and grease off so you don't grind them into the metal if you want.
A grinder or the DA on circular mode strips better and I just read some saying cutting the 4 1/2" or 6" disk into hexagon they strip better. If it's only one coat of paint the 80 will do but if it's multi layers you might go even courser.
get it down to the primer layer and switch to the 180 so finish. Clean and go. Epoxy likes 180 grit and can be mixed in batchs and rolled so you can cover back up as you go AND your water proof. Scuff it down the road when it time to finish up. Take your time and get each section done and you'll feel good as you move along.
That way your still not doing 'real' painting but your getting real paint results.

The rust will be a bridge to cross but you can get your blisters started on the good stuff and with a panel or two under your belt you'll be better prepared to decide what you'll do.
It's a lot of work which is why rattle cans were made but what do you want to drive one around?

Can epoxy go over any of the old paint? I want to paint my interior which is partly bare metal (rusting) and the old Pulsar grey.

I've heard of something called "self etching" primer. Do I need to use that? or is that what "epoxy" primer is? Sorry - I'm not all that familiar with the terminology.

In a word... No

Again, no, as in no need for the self etch if you go epoxy.
It may be best spend some time educating yourself about paints because you can get in a mess of sorry doing it wrong.
Some say you have to use one brand start to finish (not me)
Knowing the basics of prep are probably more important than brand names at this point.

any advice on some literature that's not too difficult to understand to learn the basics?

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