I have a chevelle with hugger orange paint under the primer. I was wondering if this is bad or if i could go ahead andput the new paint over it. Should i strip it back to bare metal?

ALWAYS strip to bare metal if you expect any kind of quality job on your restoration.

Gordon VM
Restoration Motorsports http://communities.msn.com/Restorationphotos/shoebox.msnw

do strip it. I was not planning to strip mine but after several of the guys here suggested that I do so I did. Under what looked like nice paint I found, four layers of paint and a mess of surface rust spots that had not been treated properly. While it had not yet affected the finish on the car it would only have been a matter of time before it would have. You'll have a lot of time and money in the car, don't risk having to re-do it buy not striping it down so you can really see what you have.

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70 and 72 Chevelle
ACES # 4051 MCC # 448
TC # 1549 81/70 Cruisers

It all depend on how much work you want to put into it. Stripping a car is very hard work and can ruin underlying bodywork. If there's a doubt as to the quality of the paint underneath, go ahead and take it all the way down. You won't regret in the end, but you will while your stripping it. Good luck.......

Definitely know what you're getting into before begining a strip. I am almost finished with my 68 elco after almost seven months. It can really be slow going if you don't keep yourself motivated. Also, I would recomend using the highest quality stripper you can find. The more agressive the better for my money.