Covering red paint w/no bleed thru

I own a 1993 Ford F250 and I'm pimping it out! It's currently red but I want to paint it a light smokey-blue with white flames. Before I invest a thousand bucks in paint, primer, sandpaper and tape I have a question...

My neighbor tried to paint his red S10 but the red kept bleeding through the primer even after maybe 10 coats! he used a primer that was only $50/gal so that might be the problem, but I'm not sure. I called Sherwin Williams and asked them for advice. They told me that if I use a quality primer with a hardner the red shouldn't bleed through but they can't guarantee that it won't. It's the "can't guarantee" bit that bothers me. I don't want a the primer turning out blotchy (w/red bleed-thru) or the light-blue paint will probably turn out blotchy too.

Do you have any thoughts on how to ensure that the red won't bleed through (without stripping the truck down to bare metal!)?

red is an arse to paint over, if you want to be assured of no bleed through you WILL need to strip it first.

yea, red is the most expensive paint to buy too.. but I'd be calling House of kolor, PPG, or someone into automotive paints, not sherwin williams.

Johnny Mac
http;//my67.net

I got a question about covering red paint also. If i was to paint my car black, would any show through? Seeing how dark black is(obviosly) i don't see how it would.