The notorious California primer and roll on paint jobs

I've never really found an answer to this but in the early 90's/late 80's GM painted all California cars with a crap water based primer. If you were unfortunate and got this primer on your car it would break down over time and your paint comes right off. I unfortunatly have this crap paint. My question is will I have to strip ALL of this primer down to the metal then prep and etching prime before I do a roll on paint job? I've heard that the rustoleum is self etching paint so can I simply use it on the bare metal? Or finally do I even have to strip the primer completley off? Thanks in advance for any help guys.

Hey Brian, I'm no professional but if I was concerned the primer failed I would want it all stripped off. Rusto is designed to paint directly on bare metal but I would probably prime a coat or two with primer tinted with the paint color. But that is just me.

I painted over a couple bare spots and it took more coats to cover them spots. Next time I will prime those areas first.

i would say go over the whole car with something really rough to get all of the crappy primer thats ready to come off, then see if you cant featheredge what's left of it for smooth transitions. if it hasnt come off in 10+ years im sure it'll keep holding on with proper prep