Mech has good tips from experience; it's obvious.

I'd like to add a few things. Always use spot glaze over bondo when possible. Avoid "Bondo" brand filler. It's just not quite the material that most of the body supply houses carry (products vary).

Fix rust appropriately (obviously).

Use a DA sander on the whole car if you have one. Get the thing as scuffed up as possible, and then get the scuffed surface as smooth as you can. Unless you've got one HELL of a smooth surface, you'll see grind marks. But some of the best body shops can hardly avoid that; you can't either. But you CAN minimize that effect greatly by getting it progressively smoother. Use sandable primer over any filler that you apply. Then sand the sandable primer carefully, and use nonsandable primer (smoother finish) on the top of that. You'll be happy you did this.

If you're doing any repairs over a longer span, or doing any contours such as dented quarter panels, dents in the wheel arch area, etc., remember that body filler sands flat when hot, and then expands to give you a wavy finish when it cools off. Avoid burning the sandpaper up over body filler. Don't worry about the normal, painted surfaces. But if you want a GOOD sand job over the bondo, don't get it too hot from friction.

Mask the car CAREFULLY around all the trim. Deliver it to the shop for finishing.

I personally like basecoat/clearcoat finishes because they're so color-rich. If the Volvo color you're using is a BC/CC finish, consider that. But cost is important as well, and I've seen some excellent finishes from Maaco. For the price, they're excellent, I mean. But the prep was also fantastic.

Remember--the best automotive finish is only as good as how it's maintained. Give the paint a chance to harden and cure appropriately, and then start on a schedule of protective polishing and careful hand washing. If you do that (barring disaster from impact or whatnot) you'll end up with a long-lasting finish even if it was inexpensive from the beginning.






--
Chris Herbst
1992 745, 68k

And others:
93 944, 150k
90 245, 110k
88 744, 160k
87 245, 185k