How to prepare body and frame for paint?

I was lucky enough to find a 1968 Chevy C-10 pickup with 21,000 original miles.  The trucks runs however I need to replace some panels.  The previous owner repainted the truck (non professionally) and my question is should I sand blast the truck body to remove the old paint, sand and paint over the existing paint or use a chemical stripper?  

Another sandblast question, the frame has some surface rust, should I wire brush it or sandblast, can you recommend a frame paint?  


BTW, I'm a virgin truck restorer as I'm sure you guessed and this is my 1st post here thanks for looking.  

Listen man, this ain't like painting your house. If you've never done this kind of work you need to do a lot of research before you destroy your '68. Take it to the wrong sandblaster and every panel will get warped. Strip it with a chemical and it will rust like a champ if you didn't neutralize it properly. I suggest finding a good shop to do the work, or practice on a junk fender.  

A great find on a really neat truck. Don't let being new bother you one bit. I'm 63 years old and brand new to some of this stuff to. I own a 67 Chevy short wide bed and just pulled the bed and old deck off of it today. Lots of rust and crud under there. Did a power wash and steel brushed the frame to get all the loose stuff off. What do you plan on using the truck for? A daily driver won't require the same attention to detail as a full on show truck. Your only limits are time and money. Have fun with it and do all you can yourself and learn all you can. Make friends with a good body man or join a local group of car junkies and pick their brains.
You can call someone like Eastwood and they will offer you some pretty good advice. Just remember its their job to sell you stuff so have some idea what your plan is beforehand. I'm not much on telling you how but can tell you why. Because you will love it and will get a real feeling of satisfaction from doing it yourself. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Happytrucking, Bigjohn  

Come to think about it, you could find an autobody course like the one at Riverside City College in Riverside, CA. Google it I wrote a story about it, I think its on here.

The main thing is don't jump-in and screw it up. You've got a goldmine there!  

The more time you spend to sort the rust and paint issue will determine the length of time it will last, do your homework to see what will nuetralise the rust and spend time to prepare the body for paint. As John said, becarefull who you use if you want to blast.
 But don't become like a lot of us old boys and turn it into a project, get in it and drive and enjoy.