Hello everyone, first post here.
I'm trying to figure out the order of things for the next stages of my first full nut and bolt restoration project. I was wondering if anyone here with experience had any input on this. I have completed every component of the car (engine, gearbox, etc etc etc etc). The plan is for me to do all the prep work for paint and have a friend (who is a painter) spray it. I'm on a budget.

This is the order I think may be the best for me but I'm looking for opinions:

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Sandblast shell and paint strip panels (doors, wings, bonnet etc)
Epoxy prime shell and panels
Seam seal shell
Underseal shell
Test fit all the panels to the car and work out any panel gap adjustment and record values
Remove panels
Prep the shell as if it were to be painted with base and clear, including the engine bay
Paint the engine bay and inside of boot with base and clear (these are the two areas of the "interior" of the car which have body colour visible from factory)
Fit wiring harness
Fit engine, suspension, ancillaries, interior etc to the car
Fix any issues with the car
Prep the panels for final paint
Mask off the boot interior, sunroof, engine bay, underside etc. Basically anything except the rear quarter panels, sills, pillars, roof.
Take the car and panels to a painter (I'm in contact with one who is willing to paint over my prepwork given I use the same products as him)
Paint the car and panels at the same time
Fit panels at the painters
Take car home, fit glass and trim
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I could get the shell and panels painted before fitting any of the running gear but it does impose some possible issues:

1. Fitting everything on a fully painted car could incur damage, especially since I work in quite a tight area

2. I would have to store all freshly painted panels as I resassemble the car.

3. It will make troubleshooting more difficult having to work around pristine paintwork

A drawback of doing it as I have laid out above is that there would have to be masking on the doors, windows and sunroof, due to the interior etc being inside the car for the final paint. This could leave lines at this area but it would all be masked on where the seals lie anyway. But, 3m make a "smooth transition tape" for this purpose. There could also be a slight mismatch in colour tone between the engine bay and inside of boot with the exterior of the car as they would be painted on separate occasions. Also, the inside of the car behind the interior, dash etc would be left in primer and not be in the factory colour as per factory.

Opinions welcome as this isn't something I want to get wrong.

thats a lot of questions for my OLD brain to keep track of! BUT in your circumstance i would paint all the undercarriage, engine bay and anything else that doesn't pertain to the outside of the car and install, then mask before the main topcoat. masking where a seal goes is the way to go if you can. in closed areas such as the inside of the sunroof it will be nearly invisible, oh it will be there but no one but you will notice it. you can tape along pinch welds were it overlaps. i wouldn't worry about color match as long as it comes from the same can or mixing station you'll be ok. where you run into color problems is where two panels butt flat to one another. how about some pictures of this project, sounds interesting.
Jay D.

I would paint door jabs, fender jabs, trunk gutter, underside of hood, underside of trunk lid ect then give assembled car (no exterior trim installed) to painter where they only have to paint the outer shell of the car. The car I am working on now that is what I did where painter got an assembled body all jabbed out and they only had to paint the outer shell. I used single stage paint for engine compartment, under side of hood ect but car is base/clear but same paint manufacturer and match is very good.

What I did was leave a little surfacer primer around the edges where you plan to paint color, mask edge fine line tape, spray door jab trunk gutter ect then after unmasking use 320 grit and blend between the jabbed area and outer body that is still in primer. A good paint shop will be able to lay the outer body paint and blend into the jabs you painted making it difficult to see any differences where the two paints come together.

One of those things you learn by doing.

I myself am still learning and have done a restoration or two.
I keep changing how I do things.
The best Purchases that has added most to my shop and my ability's :
First and foremost A Great Air compressor!!!!
The rest comes with doing time and money, This is NOT a cheap hobby!!!!!

What works for one doesn't always work for others, its a trial and error deal.

I like Jims way of Documenting and Tracking stuff by Computer, He has No Rotisserie!
and does fantastic restorations!!!!

The Best advise I can give:
1. Start a Project thread on a web sight such as this and keep it up to date.
2. Don't get all hung up on trying the latest greatest best new products or tools!!!! Many turn out to be complete crap or Junk. When it stands the test of time you know its good or worth trying when recommended by others doing the work.
3. Take lots of pictures start to finish label every thing BAG AND TAG ALL HARDWARE and Tie it to all sub assembly's with notes when possible.