I would epoxy primer everything before coating.

Taking down to metal is nice because you know there will be no hidden rust or paint incompatibilities, but I wouldn't say it's necessary.

Ya i think ill do a bit more griding on it but thanks for the input. Nice knowing that its not crucial just ideal.

Thanks!

Hey Brett

I would prime any bare metal I was going to spray bedliner on. There is no need to take it all down to bare metal. Better off leaving good paint alone if you're confident the metal underneath is solid.

Ahh thats a good point. Since i cut out the majority of the metal rott except the trunk where i showed ya, i think i should be good to prime and raptor! May try the Hercules stuff over the raptor but its all the same sounds like.
Cheers

Also i spoke with the Chris at tangerine racing about my door gap issue and he said to support the car on the jack donuts and put weights in the front and rear trunk to try to get the gap to spread open a bit. Need to keep checking the frame to frame measurement on the corners though for 25-1/4". I have 25-1/8" now so just need to pull another 1/8" outta her.