Etching Primer and Paint Gun? Options

[9fourteen]

Before I start cutting into the longs and hell hole I was thinking about sand blasting the whole area first to see what I have and then prime it before making the repairs. (eventually I am going to strip the whole tub. just doing it in sections) I already bought a blaster from eastwood. Now I need to get setup for painting so I can prime it immediately after stripping it. I have made a list of the main things I need to buy. I think I got most of it figured out but have questions on the primer and a good paint gun. I have never sprayed paint so any advice is welcome or if there is something i need to add to my list, let me know.

Here is a list of what I think I will need

paint gun
etching primer
fresh air respirator
hood
throw away coveralls
gloves
metal prep

I am sure I will need stuff to mix the paint with. The paint shop guys will help with that.

I am also going to build a chamber to limit the mess from the blasting and over spray in my garage.

I went to the local paint shop and they sell three brands of etching primer, nason, ppg and dupont. They are in order of price. Nason appears to be a low priced dupont brand. It's about half the price. Can I use the cheap stuff or should I stick with the ppg or dupont. Obviously I want to save money but I don't have a problem buying the right stuff if it is worth it and will work better. Actual suggestion items numbers would be welcome.

I was also looking at paint guns. They had a nice 2 gun set from DeVilbiss, one for priming, one for painting, i think it was around $200. They had other guns that were half the price or lower. I think i have read on here that the DeVilbiss guns are the best. (or at least in somebody's opinion they were). Is it worth the extra money or will I get the same results with the cheap gun?

thanks

I know everybody likes post with pictures so here is one.

[9fourteen]

I stopped by the paint shop on my way home from work, the plan was to buy the gun a primer and some other supplies. I asked the question about applying etching primer to media blasted steel and they said the same thing that ppg said, don't do it. The reason he gave jived with what Rick said in a previous response. the explanation this guy gave was that when you media blast the surface you rough it up, it is no longer smooth requiring the chemical bond. Roughness will create a mechanical bond for the epoxy primer and etching primer is not necessary. I didn't ask him the question but I will next time, that applying etching primer to the rough surface wouldn't hurt anything assuming his logic.

So, his recommendation was to work on one area, strip, hit it with epoxy, fix it, hit it again with epoxy then move to the next area. Get all the bad areas fixed, then strip all the other areas and spray the rest of the car with epoxy. Then apply all the other sealers and primers, etc. He said to worry about that later and just get it fixed and epoxied. He said the one thing to take into consideration with the epoxy is that if you wait more than three days after spraying it, you have to scuff it up before applying the next coat.

I basically got chased out of the store because they closed at 5 and I asked too many questions and took to long. He told me to come back Saturday morning and he would go over everything with me step by step.

Anyways, is what this guy telling me sound legit?