paint question, strip before repaint? Options

[rwilner]

So I am thinking next year maybe a respray. I'm sick of my dad giving me sh** for the small dents and dings.

My car has been resprayed at least twice, both times the factory color.

When I'm prepping for the respray, should I sand down the previous layers to bare metal or the original layer? My thought is to leave the layers...they add a little weight but protect from rust.

Thoughts?

[porschefile2010]

That's interesting Dave. My ex US 75, 2.0 is getting a new paint job. I have been stripping the fittings and trim and also stripping the paint and it's amazing what you find in the way of old dings and crash damage.
I'm finding it a bit of a forensic exercise digging back into the car's past.
But on my right side fender I have rippling along the top curve of the panel so I suspect it has been front ended(in fact I know it has) and the whole fender has been crushed backwards and it has then be beaten back into rough shape and bogged up. Now I have stripped it all off and it has left this undulating mess. So it sounds like this technique might help. Or maybe just a good old fashioned panelbeater.