what s the best media for body panels

[special-K]

At home I often use serious stripper and/or DA sander with heavy grit. Soda doesn't leave the surface rough,but never heard of that being an issue. When the metal got it's first paint job that is still hard to remove today it was as smooth or smoother than after soda blast or stripper. There's guy in my area who comes to you and is very reasonable. Makes doing it yourself look expensive.

Rust is another story. What blasts away rust warps good sheetmetal. So,sand/aluminum oxide on what can't be cut out and/or coarse sanding & chemical treatment...especially on surface rust