Sand, fill, acid etching primer single stage urethane. I would not remove the base Merc paint if you do not need to.

Rookie that looks good, are you saying just feather the paint everywhere and fill? What did you use as a filler, and what primer?

Yes, I would feather in the paint. I only say not to remove the original paint is because I originally scuffed up the black factory paint and laid a coat of white DuPont ChromaOne on and the the paint never scuffed, chipped or flaked off of the original black paint. I have had some chips on the new paint that is on the aluminum. *Note* I am no paint expert but have painted my fair share of things. That original black paint on the drives is pretty tough stuff. This is just my experience. It cold be the self etching primer I used with the PPG paint.

Filler:
I first started off using Alvin Products Lab Metal (aluminum filler). This stuff stuck great and was as hard as a rock . But to finish sand with it was a pain in the ass. I spent a frustrating 20hrs on one drive trying finish sand the Lab Metal. I basically ended up die grinding it off the drive, I would not recommend it.

I am probably going to get flamed for this, but I finally ended up using Dynatron Dyna DeLite. I filled all the pits on the drive I had not touched and then skim coated the areas on the other. Sanded great, primed and then painted. The DeLite is similar to bondo but it is suppose to be water resistant compared to bondo. I had a piece of aluminum with DeLite stuck to it sitting in a bucket of water for 3 months with no ill effects.

Sounds like the Dynatron is the way to go. Not looking to keep it forever. Rookie you prepped and sprayed w/ a hvlp gun?

Note* I did sandblast the areas where the pits were to make sure all corrosion was removed.
Use a quality paint. DuPont ChromaOne or PPG single stage
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-too...gun-66222.html

Sweet, winter project for sure. She has to get all pretty so I can sell it come tax time.