Step 1:

Taking hardware off the wood body
preparing to strip old paint.

Step 2:

Removing paint using chemical paint remover, scraping and sanding.

Step 3:

I used two engine stands so I could easily rotate the body and I could roll it into and out of my shop.

Step4:

Paint all wood body with West System Epoxy Paint. I used three coats. I effectively encapulated the wood in epoxy so that no moisture will get into the wood and cause expansion and contraction which could crack the paint in the future.

Then I sanded the surafaces smooth.

The epoxy was a very thin paint and tended to run and sag quite a bit on verticle surfaces. This made for a lot of sanding.

Step 5:

I used bondo to fill any uneven surfaces on the wood body. I filled small gaps at wood joints and I evened out the curve on curved surfaces of the wood.

Step 6:

I painted the body with a grey primer. I sanded this smooth and did more filling with bondo as needed.