This is the first time I have had to try to deal with the pictures on this forum. The format is different. I did not know they could be dealt with via a batch system. There were 6 displayed. But I down loaded 8 so not sure where they went. Nor did I know you could klick on them and the size of the changed and they were then treated as a side show. Kool. I'll do some color sanding but the next step is to jam the doors, trunk and hood opening. That will essentially be prepared by cleaning and then scuffing the existing paint with a green scrubby pad, masking and then squirting the paint out of the small Jam gun which is part of the paint gun set from Harbor freight. And if needed I will also use the inexpensive air brush set. Why? Size! It is small. It leaks so it needs to be held wrapped with a paper towel and eventually it will leak bad enough to be thrown away and another purchased. I am on my 4th one now. They are no good at all but they work for my purposes.

Ruby
I have used MAACO. Their was and maybe still is one a bit North of town off of I17 advertised working on street rods and such. I was working on my Spirit and had to leave town and decided to let them finish painting it. The thing had been prepped and jammed so all that was needed to be masked and shot with finish coat. Their "Best" paint job gave the option of selecting the proper color you wanted and a good grade paint so I decided the car was going to live parked out side and I needed it done in a time frame so I dealt witjh them to have it done and left down.
Big mistake. The masking and bagging was done poorly, over spray was every where and it took me over a year to clean up the mess that I was left with.
But, and there is a but. It cost me at the time about $3500 vs closer to $7000 I would have spent to make it right. And once cleaned up the car looked nice and has won prises at local, regional and national shows with minor daily maintenance issues. But the appearance never "popped" due to the quality of paint used, I eventually got what I paid for so it worked. But it ticked me off how poorly it was masked.

Today the temperature had dropped to below 100 degrees and the wind was light so I prepped the body of the Saturn by sanding with 220 weight sand paper and a couple of choices of soft and/or flexible rubber sanding blocks along with hand and fingers for small tight places. I started using a light weigh D/A compressed air sander with a thick soft pad but there are so many body characteristics that required hand sanding to deal with them with out burning painted areas I ended up using a hand sanding method, dry!. I was able to see surface problems if caused by the damage the clear coat of the previous paint job deteriorated caused and I found that the method I used along with the 2K primer pretty much dealt with that sort of problem.
I had a few areas I had to spot putty and re-prime but I think on the hole everything will come out good. It would have been nice to totally remove major body panels and deal with them individually but it is not something that is dealable at this point in time.
I have too many unfinished projects and too little time to do it that way.
The next nice day (soon) I will mask or bag the doors, trunk and hood and will "jam" the openings and when dry I will then try to get a coat of paint on the body.
Is there any particular pictures any one wants to see?
I actually enjoy painting a car. I would like to think I am good at it, but I do not really think I am, but I do enjoy it.

You need an apprentice to teach all about painting, Unc. That way, some day when you're gone, your legacy of proper prep and paint will live on.

Painting actually is a lot of basic work, taking time to mask off that which you do not want painted is tedious and time consuming. The body has been primed and block sanded fairly well so the next step is actually to start painting and I have done so by painting the roof first as once it is done the rest of the car can be addressed for masking. I painted the roof the other day and I am quite satisfied how it came out. It so refreshing to see body color where it belonged with out seeing it damaged. It will now be easier to mask off the car from the window line up in preparation of doing the rest of the painting.
The car has a moon roof in it that opens, but as time has passed not only have the gaskets gone bad but the plastic material that housed the switches and the switches them selves have failed and there are nor replacement parts for those in this area. The sun destroys plastic pieces and Saturn's are known for being plastic. I will be satisfied to be able to look through the clear roof to see the sky, but opening it I think is a function I will no longer be able to do. I know I can no longer locate the switches and I am not sure I find the gaskets to re-fit everything with and they need replacing.
Once masked I will make a quick pass of the body with a Green Scrubby like material and wipe it down with a clean cloth and some acetone and then go after it with the paint gun.

This morning after spending a lot of time sanding, cleaning and masking I painted the body after many a long day and years after I wish I had done it earlier. At the moment it looks like it came out o.k., Painting or having a car painted can be quite expensive and on an older car it can be worth more to have it done than the car is worth. The nice thing about doing it yourself it keeps you busy and off the streets but the expense is not out of sight. And when done if it is not letter perfect or as the say "Show" caliber it is a driver after all.
Right now after spending the last 25 years of it's life parked out side the car is less then perfect. I would like I think to put new rugs in it, that would be about $300.00 in rugs and I have done it myself so it does not intimidate me but at the moment? It looks like the end result will be quite satisfactory.
It is amazing the damage caused by the clear coat coming off. I could have I think block sanded the trunk better, it had a lot of problems, far more than the hood but all in all, it is nothing to be ashamed of and if I let it set up for a month and go after it with some 2000 grit sand paper wet sanded and then buffed out I have a feeling it will come out quite nice. The paint used is IMCO single stage acrylic enamel in the color it was painted in the first place, 1995 Black gold. I think I m pleased with the final out come.
Later

I down loaded some pictures and they disappeared into LIMBO or something. Here is one showing the end result. Now to clean up the wheels and install them. I have a set of 20 inch that I can install on pretty nice wheels, but I need adapters and some way to incur the wrath of Valerie, so I'll pass. The car is showing its age and has a number of minor glitches at the present, but time to do an oil change and start driving it again.

Congratulations, it sure feels nice to finish a long project. Hopefully you can now enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Nice Job, Unc. You never cease to amaze me with your inner drive to cross the finish line---no matter how much work or time it takes.

You mat not move at the speed of a 30 year old, but you have the work ethic of 4 of them.

How bout some pics, sir? (please)

I have to install the wheels yet
 

and do an oil change, but this is where things are at.
The car was repainted in 2008 and 2 years later the clear coat started strip off when that happened I found that I had not followed the rules correctly on using base coat/clear coat. That took a bit of time to discover. This is single stage acrylic enamel in the original color, a 1995 Black Gold. The clear coat cause a lot of damage when it removed itself and I have it repair fair. But it looks nice. I found a product that can be seen on the doors, that when the door jams are done this foam tube with adhesive is applied to the door opening and the door is closed on it, keeping over spray from screwing up the door opening. It can be used on the trunk and hood too. However I will let things dry for a month or so and the buff it out. Now to clean up the wheels and tires, change the oil. I will use Mobil 1 15W50 and make sure the tune is o.k. and the A/C works. The moon roof I will leave alone for a while. It needs new gaskets and such and I need to find the parts and the switch's are iffy as is the housing. The plastic bits and pieces have deteriorated. I don't need to cause my self more repairs at the moment.
Anyway here are some pictures.

Very nice job, Unc. Congratulations! I have actually reached a point in my life where I don't give a crap how my cars look anymore. As long as I keep them in good mechanical shape and they get me from point A to B and back to A again, I'm good. I just spent 5 hours yesterday changing out a leaking rack and pinion in my PT Cruiser and hope to God I never have to do that again. That was a first for me and hopefully the last. I had to take the subframe loose from one side and off the other, just to get it out!