Wow what great suggestions from he troops. Guess I should have asked this question with my 33. I painted it myself and over three years must have fixed dozens of little scratches, chips and other screw ups in the paint. I got a few very good tips from Mr. Miller and really just did as you are doing via trial and error. The greatest thing about paint is it can always be sanded off and re done. I fixed my cowle twice after scratching it with the roadster windshield before learning to tape it off during top swaps. The third time it looked so good afterwards, I had to repaint the damn hood to make it as nice. Go for it Tony, you'll be so proud of yourself for gutting through it that you will start looking for other stuff to attack. have fun. that's what its all about.