Mech has good tips from experience; it's obvious.

I'd like to add a few things. Always use spot glaze over bondo when possible. Avoid "Bondo" brand filler. It's just not quite the material that most of the body supply houses carry (products vary).

Fix rust appropriately (obviously).

Use a DA sander on the whole car if you have one. Get the thing as scuffed up as possible, and then get the scuffed surface as smooth as you can. Unless you've got one HELL of a smooth surface, you'll see grind marks. But some of the best body shops can hardly avoid that; you can't either. But you CAN minimize that effect greatly by getting it progressively smoother. Use sandable primer over any filler that you apply. Then sand the sandable primer carefully, and use nonsandable primer (smoother finish) on the top of that. You'll be happy you did this.

If you're doing any repairs over a longer span, or doing any contours such as dented quarter panels, dents in the wheel arch area, etc., remember that body filler sands flat when hot, and then expands to give you a wavy finish when it cools off. Avoid burning the sandpaper up over body filler. Don't worry about the normal, painted surfaces. But if you want a GOOD sand job over the bondo, don't get it too hot from friction.

Mask the car CAREFULLY around all the trim. Deliver it to the shop for finishing.

I personally like basecoat/clearcoat finishes because they're so color-rich. If the Volvo color you're using is a BC/CC finish, consider that. But cost is important as well, and I've seen some excellent finishes from Maaco. For the price, they're excellent, I mean. But the prep was also fantastic.

Remember--the best automotive finish is only as good as how it's maintained. Give the paint a chance to harden and cure appropriately, and then start on a schedule of protective polishing and careful hand washing. If you do that (barring disaster from impact or whatnot) you'll end up with a long-lasting finish even if it was inexpensive from the beginning.






--
Chris Herbst
1992 745, 68k

And others:
93 944, 150k
90 245, 110k
88 744, 160k
87 245, 185k

Basic body prep is fixing small dents with bondo, dings in the paint with body putty, and sanding.

It also means removing as much trim as is practical.

Actually it is good that the previous owner didnt take care of the paint. This means that a lot of the old wax is gone.

If I were prepping it I would use 320 grit wet dry sandpaper and go over the whole car, removing oxidation to the point the surface is even and smooth. You dont have to remove the entire coat of paint. The idea is to get it smooth. All you really want is paint that is still bonding to the sheetmetal as a good base for painting.

Then if you want to put a little more effort go to 400 grit sandpaper, but I doubt it is necessary. I bet you could do all this on a weekend. Say around 10 hours depending on how many dents you have to fill with bondo, or paint chips you fill with body putty.

As a general rule, and I am particular about prepping for painting. (After all I am spending $200 on paint and if I screw it up I get to spend $200 again)I may spend 17 hours prep, masking, removal of trim, etc. Then spend as little as 1 1/2 hours actually painting. So I think you can see that the prep is the labor intensive part.

PS. I really like to use catalyzed acrylic enamel over the urethanes. It is cheaper and has the same if not better lifespan of the urethanes. Both are excellent to use though and both take the same amount of time to shoot. Hheh both are very hazardous to breath the fumes during painting. It is like getting a lung full of superglue. So, external airsupply for breathing is really a good idea.