Hey Rich! There are a bunch of great books and videos on autobody repair skills available from Eastwoods (
http://www.eastwoodco.com). In my mind, the biggest skill to master is welding which is really less a matter of study and more one of practice. My skills get rusty between projects so I usually start my welding work on the least visible parts of the car and save the critical stuff for later when I've gotten "the touch" back.
Hey Doug! I usually use the SEM Rust Seal on places I strip and wire brush and there's still some visible rust in the pits, probably more as a matter of habit. I like the SEM Rust Seal because you can quickly wire brush thru the sealing layer for later welds and such. I use the Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator instead of primer on areas that have light surface rust. The only place I've used both SEM and Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator on this car is when I spot-welded the new steel patch over the front suspension box section, on to old rust pitted steel sealed with the SEM and then used the Eastwoods product to seep into the spotweld seam to keep future moisture out. I put a coat of Wurth high-build underseal over all that as an extra measure of sealing the surface. It's probably overkill but I sleep better knowing I've taken the extra steps.