Thanks Angelo, here is a very brief rundown on what I did - I'll try to find time to write something up properly and put it in a post so maybe it can be made a sticky/tech article.
1) Totally disassembled body and stipped out everything (wiring and all), then separated body from pan.
2) welded in any obvious rust repair panels that required replacing.
3) had body media blasted and etch primed
4) welded in any small patches required for pin hole rust etc
5) panel beated body back into shape (sounds easy hey?)
6) Used dual action orbital air powered sander with 80 grit to rough in the filler to shape, with 120 to smooth out scratches
7) primed with one pack primer to show obvious areas of concern - always easier when it is one colour
8) more glaze putty to fill pin holes and sanding scratches etc
9) block sanded with 120 and 240 by hand
10) layed down high build primer
11) block sanded with 240 and 400 grit by hand with guide coats
12) sealed it all with a sealing primer - light rub with 400 grit to denib
13) applied base coat
14) applied clear coat
15) wet sanded with 1500 to smooth out orange peel, then 2000 wet again to smooth out sanding scratches
16) cut the paint back to restore the gloss with cutting compound, then swirl remover (all with variable speed sander/polisher)
17) waxed it using sander/polisher again.
I seriously suggest to do some indepth reading - both in print and on the net. The majority of my learning was done via the net (eg.
www.hotrodders.com in the body work section of the forum) and trial and error. No matter how good a tech article can be, theory is different to actual practice. The only painting I had done previously was the sides (two tone) of my old beetle in acrylic - this was my first full car and first in two pack. I sprayed all the inside of the guards, bonnet etc so I could learn from the mistakes in areas that were not as visible.
Here are a couple of links which documents all the paint/panel work I did:
http://www.netspot4u.com/~manxclub/gallery/album148
http://www.netspot4u.com/~manxclub/gallery/album192
Alan
PS here it is as of a week or so ago:
