First, sorry for the vague title! I've been doing a lot of reading and have the general idea, but still a bit overwhelmed. I'll start from the top.

I have a Miata that I picked up cheap with a stupid amount of hail damage with the intent of fixing it up myself (I love learning new skills, and this is a perfect way to do it). I've replaced the front fenders and hood and trunk lid. They are the correct color but the paint is badly faded / missing clear on the fenders. Should I just sand down to base and then seal with a primer, or do I need to take them to metal? Color is a non-metallic black if that maters.

The rest of the car, I plan on pulling out as much as possible the 2 huge dents, then filling the remnants as well as the smaller dings. I'd seen to take it to bare metal, then fill, then prime. However, I've also read that you should prime first, then fill, then prime again. I guess some of that has to do with what type of primer you use?

On this car I am going to sell it soon after I paint it to pay for another project, so its probably not going to be perfect. However, that next project is my baby, a 1991 RX7. I want to get it as close to show quality as possible, so I'd like to start with the best technique on this car to practice for the next one.

Finally, I picked up a used Iwata LPH400 with a 1.3 nozzle and chrome cap. From reading, that is great for clear but not much else. It sounds like I need the 1.4 for base, but not sure if I need to get an orange cap, or if the chrome will do well. I'm planning on grabbing a cheaper gun with a 1.8 for the primer.

When the clear coat fails the UV protection for the color (base) is gone. The base will need to come off.

Here's a link to a 1990 Miata that I did a while back: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=24358

Dang, thats what I was afraid of. I was contemplating just scuffing that paint where its good, but the car is so dang small it won't be too much extra work to just do it correctly.

Awesome writeup, by the way! Exactly what I needed. If I read it right, I take it to metal, spray epoxy, then filler, then 2k (urethane?) primer. Is that right? Just making sure because I'd also seen to put filler straight to metal. Funny enough, I remember doing that same A/C work on my RX7 and it was nearly identical to that in every way. Crazy how they can share things you don't even think about.

Also, I've always loved old Mopar. My friend actually used to have a 68 Coronet R/T, but his was medium blue. Beautiful!

Yes, strip to metal, 2 coats of epoxy.
Filler can go over epoxy without sanding first if done with in a few days.
You can then spot epoxy primer over the filler areas.

Shoot a few coats of 2k build primer (be sure to let it flash well between coats and cure real good before moving to the next step), guide coat and block sand with coarse grit paper to get panels straight. Repeat as necessary stepping up to finer grit paper until you can remove the guide coat without breaking through.

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:You can then spot epoxy primer over the filler areas.

That's what I Was looking for!

Next problem - there is a section about the size of a silver dollar where the paint is missing on the rear bumper. I can grab underneath the edge with my fingernail and pull off dime sized chips of paint. What is the best way to keep that from being a problem down the road? Or, is it really going to be a ticking time bomb? I've had an awful time trying to find another bumper (had to drive 6 hours round trip just to find this one), but I can keep searching if necessary.

Your paint job is only as good as it's foundation. If you paint over that it will eventually crack and begin chipping off.

OK, I guess I can just sand the paint off the same way on the plastic, just use 80 grit instead of 40.

Also, this is feeling a little like the twilight zone, but I hand't seen a Coronet since my friend sold his years ago. Then this morning, I walked into the Summit store in Arlington, and there is a beautiful '68 (I think) Super Bee sitting in the entrance. Not officially a Coronet, but close enough that I had to do a double take after mentioning it to you just a day or two ago.

Sorry for the picture quality - it was horribly backlit. You would have loved it, it was bordering on immaculate.

Yes, it is a Coronet Super Bee.
They had a Coronet 500 and then the top of the line was the Coronet R/T.