Remove the seam sealer in the floor pans? Options

[stevegm]

I am cleaning up the floor pans. Wire wheeling them to bare metal. Then Ospho and epoxy. A couple questions:

1. Is it advisable to take the seam sealer out from around the round metal plugs in the pans? What about around the edges of the pans? I would like to remove it all. But, I don't want to create an opportunity for rust. The car is rust-free, and they are original pans.

2. When others have done this, do they strip the longs too, and ospho, paint them too? Or do they typically stop at the edge of the pans?

3. I am going to use epoxy primer on the pans, then paint them body color. This may be a stupid question but, I have the Deltron basecoat and clear coat left over from having the car painted. Can I use just the basecoat paint. and not clear coat the inside of the pans? Is the base coat a good enough sealer (so to speak)? Or does it need the clear coat to fully seal?