Well, I've put a few hours in to bondoing this bad boy up. I used regular ole' bondo for anything that looks like it would get direct abuse (bottoms, control panel, etc) and Bondo Glazing putty for the small gouges, chips, etc.
Here is how it looked during the process:
Here is how the control panel is coming out... remember the swiss cheese from above? Here's a shot of how it looks half filled with bondo:
After about 3 separate applications of bondo/glazing putty I was satisfied enough (having to tell myself that it's a freakin' 28 year old machine and will NEVER be 100% perfect) to move on to the next step... primer. I used Killz Oil Based primer. I decided to go with 2 coats only as I am going to be painting it back to black anyway. If I was going to go with Stargate red, I'd likely have gone with one additional coat.
I completed the 2nd coat around 11PM last night. I will sand and apply the first coat of black tonight with a 2nd coat likely rolled on tomorrow. I am using a fine foam roller for this application. I will be using oil based semi-gloss black obtained from Home Depot.
NEXT: Paint the cab. Sand the control panel. Prime and paint the control panel.
By the time I am done with those tasks I am hoping my artwork will be here. I went with artdoctor.com for a few reasons... all of them associated with cost. This is a budget project and, unfortunately, the other avenues I've used in the past were about 40% more expensive and I've heard a few positive things about artdoctor.com...we shall see.